Editorial: Advances in molecular targeted therapies of urologic cancers

Abstract

Editorial on the Research TopicAdvances in molecular targeted therapies of urologic cancers Urologic cancer is a generic term for distinct malignancies of the urogenital tract comprising of solid tumors of different organs such as bladder, prostate, kidney, urothelium and testicles. Except for testicular cancer rather showing an increased prevalence and incidence in younger adults, most urologic cancers develop in the older male population. All types of urologic cancers represent a problem of major concern and some of them (e.g. prostate cancer) rank among the three most frequent cancers, worldwide and account for a large number of cancer related deaths per year (1). And even more alarming the incidence of urologic cancer is rising due to demographic reasons such as population growth and aging but also due to environmental factors, which have been linked to the development and growth of single urologic cancers, too (e.g. kidney, prostate, bladder) (2).In the past decade, the understanding of dysregulated pathways in urologic cancers as well as the identification of potential biomarkers helped to identify new targets and pathways for novel therapeutic approaches. In this respect new immunomodulatory substances, antiangiogenic agents, growth factor receptor inhibitors or the targeting of epigenetically modulated signaling pathways have become interesting and promising starting points for future medical treatment of urologic cancer. Besides being more effective, targeted approaches also aim at reducing the severe short-and long-term side effects known for conventional chemo-and radiotherapies.The idea of the Research Topic "Advances in molecular targeted therapies of urologic cancers" was to bring together experts in the field reporting on recent (pre-)clinical findings and achievements and to give an overview on possible therapeutic developments and biomarker analysis in urologic cancer research.