Sex differences in bladder cancer: understanding biological and clinical implications
Abstract Bladder cancer (BC) remains a significant global health concern, with substantial sex and racial disparities in incidence, progression, and outcomes. BC is the sixth most common cancer among males and the seventeenth most common among females worldwide. Over 90% of BC cases are urothelial c...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Biology of Sex Differences |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13293-025-00715-6 |
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| author | Prakash Chaudhary Biplab Singha Hany A. Abdel-Hafiz Maria Velegraki Debasish Sundi Swati Satturwar Anil V. Parwani Sergei I. Grivennikov Sungyong You Helen S. Goodridge Qin Ma Yuzhou Chang Anjun Ma Bin Zheng Dan Theodorescu Zihai Li Xue Li |
| author_facet | Prakash Chaudhary Biplab Singha Hany A. Abdel-Hafiz Maria Velegraki Debasish Sundi Swati Satturwar Anil V. Parwani Sergei I. Grivennikov Sungyong You Helen S. Goodridge Qin Ma Yuzhou Chang Anjun Ma Bin Zheng Dan Theodorescu Zihai Li Xue Li |
| author_sort | Prakash Chaudhary |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Bladder cancer (BC) remains a significant global health concern, with substantial sex and racial disparities in incidence, progression, and outcomes. BC is the sixth most common cancer among males and the seventeenth most common among females worldwide. Over 90% of BC cases are urothelial carcinoma (UC) with high degrees of pathological heterogeneity. Molecular subtyping of BC has also revealed distinct luminal, basal, and neuroendocrine subtypes, each with unique genetic and immune signatures. Emerging research uncovers the biasing effects of the sex hormones with androgens increasing BC risk through both tumor cell intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms. The sex chromosomes, including both the X and Y chromosomes, also contribute to the sex differences in BC. The effect of sex chromosome is both independent from and synergistic with the effects of sex hormones. Loss of the Y chromosome is frequently observed in BC patients, while an extra copy of the X chromosome confers better protection against BC in females than in males. Advent of advanced technologies such as multiomics and artificial intelligence will likely further improve the understanding of sex differences in BC, which may ultimately lead to personalized preventative and treatment strategies depending on the biological sex of patients. This review delves into the impacts of biology of sex on BC, emphasizing the importance of further research into sex-specific biology to improve cancer prevention and care. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-47eed7a0ef794cf5bd9c5bacd7d9f643 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2042-6410 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biology of Sex Differences |
| spelling | doaj-art-47eed7a0ef794cf5bd9c5bacd7d9f6432025-08-20T02:30:49ZengBMCBiology of Sex Differences2042-64102025-05-0116112210.1186/s13293-025-00715-6Sex differences in bladder cancer: understanding biological and clinical implicationsPrakash Chaudhary0Biplab Singha1Hany A. Abdel-Hafiz2Maria Velegraki3Debasish Sundi4Swati Satturwar5Anil V. Parwani6Sergei I. Grivennikov7Sungyong You8Helen S. Goodridge9Qin Ma10Yuzhou Chang11Anjun Ma12Bin Zheng13Dan Theodorescu14Zihai Li15Xue Li16Department of Medicine and Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical CenterDepartment of Medicine and Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical CenterSamuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical CenterPelotonia Institute for Immuno‑Oncology, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer CenterDepartment of Urology, Division of Urologic Oncology, The Ohio State University, Comprehensive Cancer Center Board of GovernorsDepartment of Pathology, Wexner Medical Center at The Ohio State UniversityDepartment of Pathology, Wexner Medical Center at The Ohio State UniversityDepartment of Medicine and Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical CenterSamuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical CenterDepartment of Medicine and Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical CenterDepartment of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State UniversityDepartment of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State UniversityDepartment of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State UniversityDepartment of Medicine and Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical CenterSamuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical CenterPelotonia Institute for Immuno‑Oncology, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer CenterDepartment of Medicine and Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical CenterAbstract Bladder cancer (BC) remains a significant global health concern, with substantial sex and racial disparities in incidence, progression, and outcomes. BC is the sixth most common cancer among males and the seventeenth most common among females worldwide. Over 90% of BC cases are urothelial carcinoma (UC) with high degrees of pathological heterogeneity. Molecular subtyping of BC has also revealed distinct luminal, basal, and neuroendocrine subtypes, each with unique genetic and immune signatures. Emerging research uncovers the biasing effects of the sex hormones with androgens increasing BC risk through both tumor cell intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms. The sex chromosomes, including both the X and Y chromosomes, also contribute to the sex differences in BC. The effect of sex chromosome is both independent from and synergistic with the effects of sex hormones. Loss of the Y chromosome is frequently observed in BC patients, while an extra copy of the X chromosome confers better protection against BC in females than in males. Advent of advanced technologies such as multiomics and artificial intelligence will likely further improve the understanding of sex differences in BC, which may ultimately lead to personalized preventative and treatment strategies depending on the biological sex of patients. This review delves into the impacts of biology of sex on BC, emphasizing the importance of further research into sex-specific biology to improve cancer prevention and care.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13293-025-00715-6Sex chromosomesSex hormonesNon-canonical sex-biasing factorsUrothelial carcinomaPrecision medicine |
| spellingShingle | Prakash Chaudhary Biplab Singha Hany A. Abdel-Hafiz Maria Velegraki Debasish Sundi Swati Satturwar Anil V. Parwani Sergei I. Grivennikov Sungyong You Helen S. Goodridge Qin Ma Yuzhou Chang Anjun Ma Bin Zheng Dan Theodorescu Zihai Li Xue Li Sex differences in bladder cancer: understanding biological and clinical implications Biology of Sex Differences Sex chromosomes Sex hormones Non-canonical sex-biasing factors Urothelial carcinoma Precision medicine |
| title | Sex differences in bladder cancer: understanding biological and clinical implications |
| title_full | Sex differences in bladder cancer: understanding biological and clinical implications |
| title_fullStr | Sex differences in bladder cancer: understanding biological and clinical implications |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sex differences in bladder cancer: understanding biological and clinical implications |
| title_short | Sex differences in bladder cancer: understanding biological and clinical implications |
| title_sort | sex differences in bladder cancer understanding biological and clinical implications |
| topic | Sex chromosomes Sex hormones Non-canonical sex-biasing factors Urothelial carcinoma Precision medicine |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13293-025-00715-6 |
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