Analyses of publicly available genomics resources define FGF-2-expressing bladder carcinomas as EMT-prone, proliferative tumors with low mutation rates and high expression of CTLA-4, PD-1 and PD-L1

Superficial and invasive bladder cancer subtypes are genetically distinct. Interestingly, mutations in the FGF receptor genes FGFR1 and FGFR3 are common in superficial cancers. Based on the analysis of publicly-available databases, Philip Tsichlis and Elizabeth McNiel from Tufts Medical Center USA, show that basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2) differs from FGFR1 and FGFR3 in that it tends to be expressed in invasive tumors with poor prognosis. By combining database information with their earlier data, they also provide evidence for a model which suggests that FGF-2 promotes tumor cell invasiveness, proliferation and cancer stem cell self-renewal by coupling two pathways, one of which regulates FGF-2 expression and the other FGF-2 signaling. Finally, they show that FGF-2 expression correlates with immune-checkpoint activation, another predictor of poor prognosis.