Updates in Novel Markers on Tumors of the Urological Tract: From Diagnosis and Prognosis to Therapy and Clinical Efficacy

Dear Colleagues,

Urothelial carcinoma (UC) represents a frequent genitourinary malignancy found predominately in the bladder, with the upper urological tract being involved only in about 5 % of cases. Despite recent efforts and developments, patients with UC experience poor prognoses and disease recurrences, with long-term follow-ups involving heavy costs and discomfort. It is a very heterogeneous disease with a wide spectrum of morphological patterns and variants, as well as clinical presentations. At the molecular level, heterogeneity is reflected by genomic instability, varying rates of mutation and protein expression.

Over the last few years, molecular subtypes have been identified for non-muscle-invasive (NMI) and muscle-invasive (MI) urothelial carcinoma with differences in clinical outcomes. Nevertheless, the corresponding phenotypical characterization has led to discordant results.

Biomarkers to predict prognosis and treatment response have been largely investigated for tissue, urine and blood. The most studied include cell cycle, cell signaling, cell adhesion and inflammatory biomarkers. Although promising, a standardized approach and a consensus are still lacking.

The recent development of new therapeutic strategies, such as antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs), monoclonal antibodies targeting a specific cell surface antigen (nectin-4, TROP2 and HER2), small molecules targeting  UC with fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) mutations, and anti-PD-1 agents, has stimulated additional investigation of molecular targets.

In this setting, further research is needed to better stratify patient risk, predict treatment efficacy and assess targeted therapeutic approaches.

This Special Issue aims to collect the most recent developments in tumor biomarkers with prognostic and predictive value among NMI and MI or metastatic UC, which could influence outcome. This Issue will also collect recent advances in promising or novel therapeutic targets for local treatment or systemic therapy in the entire spectrum of tumors of the urological tract, including retrospective and prospective results from clinical trials or small mono-institutional series.

Authors are encouraged to submit original research articles, review articles and meta-analysis articles.

Dr. Piergiuseppe Colombo
Dr. Paolo Andrea Zucali
Dr. Marina Valeri
Guest Editors

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• urothelial carcinoma
• renal pelvis
• ureter
• bladder
• urethra
• tumor markers
• prognosis
• predictive
• prediction of treatment efficacy
• targeted therapy