Abstract
This Special Issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (IJMS) covers one of the most intriguing and emerging fields in terms of molecular oncology and uro-oncologic research efforts over the recent years, namely urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB), as well as urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary tract (UTUC). A total of 8 articles published in this Special Issue highlight the current progress in molecular oncology and cancer genetics in UCB, including a wide range of research topics, such as FGFR-inhibitors, sarcopenia in UCB, molecular predictors of response following neoadjuvant chemotherapy, exercise cardiac training impacts in the murine UCB model, Obatoclax, tropomyosins as potential biomarkers, immunotherapeutic approaches, as well as a transcriptional analysis of immunohistochemically defined UCB-subgroups. Find a brief summary of the respective articles below.
Highlights
This Special Issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (IJMS) covers one of the most intriguing and emerging fields in terms of molecular oncology and uro-oncologic research efforts over the recent years, namely urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB), as well as urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary tract (UTUC)
Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) induced by fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR)1 signaling has been proposed as a mechanism of PTX-resistance, whereby it is currently unclear whether or not it can be overcome by FGFR1-inhibition [2,3]
The present study investigated whether FGFR1-overexpression contributes to PTX-resistance and whether FGFR-inhibition is able to enhance PTX efficacy in UC [4]
Summary
Sarcopenia, which is characterized by a degenerative and systemic loss of skeletal muscle mass, represents a multifactorial syndrome that (amongst others) can be found accompanying advanced or progressive cancers, as well as in patients with cancer cachexia [7]. The authors report that the DNA repair gene panel-based approach was the most cost-effective strategy, with a mean overall survival (OS) of 3.14 years and expenses of $31,482/life year Under this model, 38% of patients would go on to receive NAC. The goal of the recent analysis was to clarify whether combining Obatoclax, a BH3 mimetic which inhibits pro-survival Bcl-2 family members, is able to improve responses to Cisplatin chemotherapy, a standard of care treatment for muscle invasive UCB [20]. Obatoclax was found to inhibit cell proliferation, promote apoptosis, and significantly enhance Cisplatin effectiveness in muscle invasive UCB cells via mechanisms that likely involve the inhibition of both pro-survival molecules, as well as cell cycle regulators. The recent analysis is of great importance, since the phenomenon of chemoresistance and thereby the non-response or significantly diminished response of patients towards chemotherapy represents a major problem in cancer treatment
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