Role of biomarkers to predict outcomes and response to therapy

Molecular markers are not established in management of bladder cancer. There is, however, a limit to the ability of clinical and pathological parameters to predict patients at high risk for urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB) recurrence or mortality. The assessment of molecular biomarkers in surgical UCB specimens offers additional information on the biology of the disease, and might improve the prediction of oncologic end points. There is also a potential for molecular biomarkers to predict the response to adjuvant or neoadjuvant therapies. Furthermore, markers may guide targeted therapy. Prospective trials are needed to validate the clinical benefit of assessing expression patterns of molecular biomarkers. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.