Emerging Roles of Cancer Stem Cells in Bladder Cancer Progression, Tumorigenesis, and Resistance to Chemotherapy: A Potential Therapeutic Target for Bladder Cancer

Abstract

Bladder cancer (BC) is a complex and highly heterogeneous stem cell disease associated with high morbidity and mortality rates if it is not treated properly. Early diagnosis with personalized therapy and regular follow-up are the keys to a successful outcome. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are the leading power behind tumor growth, with the ability of self-renewal, metastasis, and resistance to conventional chemotherapy. The fast-developing CSC field with robust genome-wide screening methods has found a platform for establishing more reliable therapies to target tumor-initiating cell populations. However, the high heterogeneity of the CSCs in BC disease remains a large issue. Therefore, in the present review, we discuss the various types of bladder CSC heterogeneity, important regulatory pathways, roles in tumor progression and tumorigenesis, and the experimental culture models. Finally, we describe the current stem cell-based therapies for BC disease.

Development of Prostate Cancer Organoid Culture Models in Basic Medicine and Translational Research

“…It is frequently used as an intermediate model between in vitro cancer cell lines and PDXs. Organoids can efficiently and closely recapitulate the in vivo microenvironment as well as molecular and genetic signature of tissues or organs of origin and are capable of self-renewal and self-organization [94][95][96][97]. It also could provide the benefit for cancer-related studies, disease modeling, drug discovery, and personalized therapy [95,[98][99][100][101][102][103].…”

Stem Cell-Based Disease Modeling and Cell Therapy

“…They also described the current stem cell-based therapies for bladder cancer disease. Patient-derived bladder cancer stem cell-included organoids could represent a faithful model system for studying tumor evolution and treatment response in context of precision cancer medicine [ 10 ].…”

“…Cancer stem cells play important roles in cancer growth, metastasis, and recurrence. Therefore, targeting cancer stem cells could provide a promising way to treat various types of solid tumors [ 10 , 11 ].…”

“…This Special Issue includes both research [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ] and reviews articles [ 10 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ] which cover wide ranges of stem cell research: adult stem cells, cancer stem cells, pluripotent stem cells, and complex 3D organoid/cell aggregate models [ 26 , 27 , 33 ], with the focuses on stem cell biology/technology [ 10 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 31 , 32 , 34 ], and stem cell-based disease modeling [ 10 , 27 , 29 , 31 , 33 , 38 , 43 ] and cell therapy [ 24 , 28 , 30 , 32 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 39 , 40 , 41 ].…”

<p>Superior Effect of the Combination of Carbon-Ion Beam Irradiation and 5-Fluorouracil on Colorectal Cancer Stem Cells in vitro and in vivo</p>

“…[18][19][20] Therefore, developing more effective therapies to eliminate CSC is crucial. [21][22][23][24][25][26] Based on high local control rate and increased induction of unrepairable clustered DNA damage, we successfully treated more than 13,000 patients with various tumor types, including more than 600 patients with postoperative recurrent CRC using carbon-ion radiotherapy (CIRT) over the past 26 years and have achieved encouraging outcomes. [27][28][29] However, limiting dose escalation in cases where the tumor is very close to important organs or with invisible micrometastases is one of the most important challenges with CIRT.…”