Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome Patient Phenotyping

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Pain Medicine
• Regenerative Medicine

Background:

• Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) is a complex condition with varied patient presentations.
• Current understanding necessitates refined diagnostic and treatment strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish global consensus on patient phenotyping in IC/BPS.
• To review evidence supporting different IC/BPS phenotypic groups.

Main Methods:

• A narrative review of published evidence was conducted.
• Focused on patient phenotyping within the context of a Global Consensus meeting.

Main Results:

• Patients with IC/BPS can be broadly classified into bladder-centric, systemic, or other phenotypes (e.g., myofascial pelvic pain).
• Evidence supports the existence and clinical relevance of these distinct phenotypic groups.

Conclusions:

• Future IC/BPS clinical trials must incorporate patient phenotyping, stratifying into bladder-centric and systemic groups.
• Refining discriminative thresholds and understanding phenotype-treatment interactions are vital for advancing IC/BPS research and care.