Role of adhesion molecules in bladder cancer: An important part of the jigsaw

There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that alterations in the adhe sion properties of neoplastic cells may play a pivotal role in the developm ent and progression of bladder cancer. Loss of intercellular adhesion and t he desquamation of cells from the underlying lamina propria allows malignan t cells to escape from their site of origin, degrade the extracellular matr ix, acquire a more motile and invasive phenotype, and finally invade and me tastasize. In addition to participating in tumor invasiveness and metastasi s, adhesion molecules regulate or significantly contribute to a variety of functions, including signal transduction, cell growth, differentiation, sit e-specific gene expression, morphogenesis, immunologic function, cell motil ity, wound healing, and inflammation. To date, a diverse system of transmem brane glycoproteins have been identified that mediate the cell-cell and the cell-extracellular matrix adhesion. The main families of adhesion molecule s are the cadherins, integrins, members of the immunoglobulin superfamily, and selectins. We review the recent data regarding the role of selected adh esion molecules in the pathogenesis of bladder cancer and their clinical ex ploitation as biomarkers of this malignant disease. (C) 1999, Elsevier Scie nce Inc. All rights reserved.