Bladder cancer accounts for an estimated 500,000 new cases and 200,000
deaths annually. The prevalence of bladder cancer is high, with more than 1.6 million
people affected worldwide. Modern techniques not based on microbiological cultures,
such as Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) of the 16S rRNA gene, have provided
robust evidence that a urinary commensal microbiota exists. Few studies have shown a
detailed analysis of the urinary microbiota in patients with bladder cancer. Therefore,
the nature and role of many relevant bladder bacteria in the initiation and progress of
bladder cancer remain under investigation. This chapter describes the main studies in
this regard, as well as the underlying mechanisms, mainly immune-based. Moreover, if
we talk about bladder cancer and the feasibility of probiotics as an alternative treatment
acting on the microbiota, we must start by mentioning the functionality of the Bacille
Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine. Based on the immunogenic performance of the BCG
vaccine, new therapies with probiotic bacteria were proposed, and in vivo and in vitro
studies were performed with positive results in terms of tumor size reduction and
recurrence reduction. Finally, the potential use of Bifidobacterium as a vector in
specific gene therapy against bladder cancer is described.
Keywords: Alpha diversity, Anticancer italicmmunity, Bladder cancer Bifidobacterium infantum, Beta diversity, Bacille Calmette-Guérin Bifidobacterium, Cytokines, Fermented dairy products, Gene therapy, Immune system Lactobacillus, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus casei Shirota, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG , Lactic acid bacteria (LAB), Microbiota, Microbiome, Next generation sequencing (NGS), Probiotics, PCoA, 16S rRNA gene, TURB, TRAIL, Urine microbiota.
