Diagnostic, Prognostic and Therapeutic Potential of Heat Shock Proteins in Schistosomiasis and Bladder Cancer: A Review

Schistosomiasis is a waterborne tropical disease caused by infection with parasitic worms of the Schistosoma genus resulting in significant morbidity in the Middle East, South America, Southeast Asia and, mostly, in sub-Saharan Africa. For over 30 decades, this disease has been on a gradual rise, claiming thousands of lives and disfiguring its sufferers. Currently, over 280 000 mortalities per annum are attributed to this disease, with about 207 million reported cases of infection worldwide. In addition to these overwhelming statistics, infection caused by S. haematobium has been reported to predispose its sufferers to cancer of the bladder. Bladder cancer is regarded as the most common type of cancer in the urinary system, with relatively high incidence, progression and mortality rates despite the efforts put into providing optimal treatment for the disease. Despite the diagnostic and treatment options already put into place, there is still a growing need to develop alternative strategies to combat these diseases. The high expression levels of a group of molecular chaperones, known as heat shock proteins, can be used as biomarkers of infection and can consequently play a role in the development of alternative treatment methods.