Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 22, 2025
An Ultrahigh-throughput Microfluidic Platform for Single-cell Genome Sequencing
Published on: May 23, 2018
Single-cell sequencing technologies in bladder cancer research: Applications and challenges
Tianqi Lyu1, Yuanbin Lin1, Kerong Wu2
1Cixi Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Science (CAS), Ningbo, China.
Abstract:
Bladder cancer is among the most common malignant tumors with highly heterogeneous molecular characteristics. Despite advancements of the available therapeutic options, several bladder cancer patients exhibit unsatisfactory clinical outcomes. The lack of specific biomarkers for effective targeted therapy or immunotherapy remains a major obstacle in treating bladder cancer. The rapid development of single-cell techniques is transforming our understanding of the intra-tumoral heterogeneity, thereby providing us with a powerful high-throughput sequencing tool that can reveal tumorigenesis, progression, and invasion in bladder tumors. In this review, we summarise and discuss how single-cell sequencing technologies have been applied in bladder cancer research, to advance our collective knowledge on the heterogeneity of bladder tumor cells, as well as to provide new insights into the complex ecosystem of the tumor microenvironment. The application of single-cell approaches also uncovers the therapeutic resistance mechanism in bladder cancer and facilitates the detection of urinary-exfoliated tumor cells. Moreover, benefiting from the powerful technical advantages of single-cell techniques, several key therapeutic targets and prognostic models of bladder cancer have been identified. It is hoped that this paper can provide novel insights into the precision medicine of bladder cancer.
Insights
Single-cell sequencing reveals bladder cancer
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Genomics
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Bladder cancer is a common malignancy with significant molecular heterogeneity.
- Current treatments often yield unsatisfactory outcomes due to a lack of specific biomarkers.
- Intra-tumoral heterogeneity poses challenges for targeted therapy and immunotherapy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the application of single-cell sequencing in bladder cancer research.
- To elucidate intra-tumoral heterogeneity and tumor microenvironment complexity.
- To identify novel therapeutic targets and prognostic models for precision medicine.
Main Methods:
- Review of studies utilizing single-cell sequencing technologies in bladder cancer.
- Analysis of data on tumor cell heterogeneity and microenvironment.
- Examination of findings related to therapeutic resistance and biomarker discovery.
Main Results:
- Single-cell techniques provide deep insights into bladder tumor cell heterogeneity.
- The tumor microenvironment's complexity is better understood through single-cell analysis.
- Mechanisms of therapeutic resistance and detection of exfoliated tumor cells are facilitated.
- Key therapeutic targets and prognostic models have been identified.
Conclusions:
- Single-cell sequencing is a powerful tool for advancing bladder cancer research.
- It offers new perspectives on tumor biology, heterogeneity, and the microenvironment.
- This technology holds promise for developing precision medicine approaches in bladder cancer treatment.
Related Concept Videos
03:00Next-generation Sequencing
Next-Generation Sequencing Methods
Although all next-generation methods use different technologies, they all share a set of standard features....
03:21RNA-seq
Before the discovery of RNA-seq, microarray-based methods and Sanger sequencing were used for transcriptome analysis. However, while...