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Bladder SPOREs

Bladder cancer is a highly prevalent disease, with an estimated 69,000 new cases and 15,000 deaths in 2011. The Bladder Cancer SPORE, initiated in 2011, is developing new cancers interventions through molecular-based translational research. This SPORE is advancing several well developed themes, including early detection, prediction and novel therapeutic strategies. Complementary translational projects of this research team are expanding our understanding of the genesis, progression and metastasis of bladder cancer and developing novel therapeutic strategies for the prevention and treatment of this disease. The identification of specific new biomarkers developed by the Bladder SPORE providing new insight into the concept of the “field-defect” and enhances risk assessment and cancer detection. Novel therapies developed by Bladder SPORE promise new and more effective treatments of bladder cancer that will improve the outcome of patients with bladder cancer.

The SPORE in Bladder Cancer has become a catalyst for collaborative translational research. This SPORE has played a leading role in establishing and supporting the International Bladder Cancer Marker Network, which collaborated in the development of tissue arrays to evaluate the prognostic and predictive utility of multiple markers. This SPORE is also leading an inter-institutional collaborative study to evaluate a set well-established urine markers for the screening of Bladder Cancer. In 2011 this SPORE co-led the NCI Workshop on Novel Neoadjuvant Therapy for Bladder Cancer.