Glycosphingolipids as emerging attack points in bladder cancer.

Bladder cancer is a prevalent malignancy associated with significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Emerging research highlights the critical role of glycosphingolipids (GSLs) in bladder cancer progression. In this review, we examine GSL expression profiles in bladder cancer and explore their contributions to key cancer hallmarks, including invasion and metastasis, immune evasion, and resistance to cell death. We further discuss the potential of GSLs as therapeutic targets and non-invasive biomarkers, with an emphasis on recent advances in GSL-targeting strategies. Additionally, we highlight our recent discovery of a novel, patented biomarker for bladder cancer diagnosis, identified using cutting-edge glyco-analytical technologies.