Bladder Cancer Stem Cells: Biological and Therapeutic Perspectives

Bladder cancer stem cell research is rapidly expanding based on the knowledge of cancer stem cells from various cancer types and normal stem cells as models. In various cancer types, cancer stem cells have been implicated in therapeutic resistance and relapse after initial therapy. Understanding how cancer stem cells differ from bulk cancer cells and how cancer stem cells contribute to relapse and resistance are essential to develop novel therapeutics to target cancer stem cells effectively. Here we review the latest information on bladder cancer stem cells, their biological characteristics, including their response to treatment, recurrence, immune context and technical problems encountered in bladder cancer stem cell research.