Use of genomic markers to improve epidemiologic and clinical research in urology

Abstract

Purpose of review Urologic cancers result from the appearance of genomic alterations in the target organ due to the combination of genetic and environmental factors. Knowledge of the genomic markers involved in their etiology and mechanisms for their development continue to progress. This reviewed provides an update on recent genomic studies that have informed epidemiologic and clinical research in urology. Recent findings Inherited variations are an established risk factor for urologic cancers with significant estimates of heritability for prostate, kidney, and bladder cancer. The roles of both rare germline variants, identified from family-based studies, and common variants, identified from genome-wide association studies, have provided important information about the genetic architecture for urologic cancers. Large-scale analyses of tumors have generated genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data that have also provided novel insights into etiology and mechanisms. These tumors characteristics, along with the associated tumor microenvironment, have attempted to provide more accurate risk stratification, prognosis of disease and therapeutic management. Summary Genomic studies of inherited and acquired variation are changing the landscape of our understanding of the causes of urologic cancers and providing important translational insights for their management. Their use in epidemiologic and clinical studies is thus essential.

Genomic Fabrics of the Excretory System’s Functional Pathways Remodeled in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

“…The majority of these articles looked for gene biomarkers whose altered sequence and expression level were supposedly responsible for triggering cancerization and whose restoration allegedly provides the cure. In most publications, the biomarkers were identified by comparing sequencing (e.g., [7][8][9] and/or transcription (e.g., [10][11][12]) data in tissues collected from cancer-stricken and healthy people.…”