Molecular subtyping of bladder cancer: current trends and future directions in 2019

Purpose of review Personalized medicine portends a future where patients receive therapy based on mutational and gene expression profiles intrinsic to their tumor. Recent advances in molecular subtyping of tumors have pushed us closer to using patient-specific data to guide therapy. The purpose of this review is to understand how these advances may be used to understand tumor development and direct therapeutic regimens clinically. Recent findings Multiple reports have identified specific molecular subtypes present in bladder cancer. A variety of classification schemes are currently being suggested based on different groups observations on gene expression, mutational profile, and histological variability. Notably, recent novel findings indicate standard of care with neoadjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy effectively removes the basal subtype specifically, indicating clinical data largely supports the use of molecular subtyping as a way to treat tumors. Summary Although varied classifications are present in the field currently, more work is required to truly define which subtypes are responsive to specific therapies. Current data supports the idea that molecular subtyping will benefit patients; however, these data also argue in favor of combinatorial therapy and molecular profiling throughout treatment.