Bladder cancer

Abstract

Bladder cancer is a heterogeneous disease, with 70% of patients presenting with superficial tumours, which tend to recur but are generally not life threatening, and 30% presenting as muscle-invasive disease associated with a high risk of death from distant metastases. The main presenting symptom of all bladder cancers is painless haematuria, and the diagnosis is established by urinary cytology and transurethral tumour resection. Intravesical treatment is used for carcinoma in situ and other high grade non-muscle-invasive tumours. The standard of care for muscle-invasive disease is radical cystoprostatectomy, and several types of urinary diversions are offered to patients, with quality of life as an important consideration. Bladder preservation with transurethral tumour resection, radiation, and chemotherapy can in some cases be equally curative. Several chemotherapeutic agents have proven to be useful as neoadjuvant or adjuvant treatment and in patients with metastatic disease. We discuss bladder preserving approaches, combination chemotherapy including new agents, targeted therapies, and advances in molecular biology.

Differential response of normal and malignant urothelial cells to CHK1 and ATM inhibitors

“…Medicines administrated into the bladder are not able to reach cancer cells in other organs such as kidneys, ureters, and urethra. Currently, radiation and chemotherapy are two major cancer treatments of bladder tumour (Kaufman et al, 2009). Nevertheless, it is a problem that the recurrence is still high (Soloway et al, 2002).…”

CD147 overexpression allows an accurate discrimination of bladder cancer patients’ prognosis

“…Bladder cancer is the second most common tumour of the urogenital tract; urothelial bladder carcinoma (UBC) comprises about 90% of all primary bladder malignancies [1,2]. The debate about the best treatment approach for T1G3 and advanced urothelial carcinoma continually challenges all urologic surgeons and oncologists [3,4].…”

Musashi-2 promotes migration and invasion in bladder cancer via activation of the JAK2/STAT3 pathway

“…1 Despite the recent advances in treatments, the prognosis of patients with advanced-stage bladder cancer remains poor. 2 The 5-year overall survival rate for early stage bladder cancer is more than 80%, compared with only 20% for advanced stage disease. 3 In patients with lymph node-positive disease, the 5-year overall survival rate is 26%.…”