Biomarkers for patients with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome

Interstitial cystitis or bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) is a disease of unknown etiology manifested with bladder pain and frequency urgency symptoms. Although several pathophysiologic mechanisms have been proposed, the underlying mechanism of IC/BPS is still unclear. Accumulated evidence supports that IC/BPS is actually a spectrum of clinical phenomena that involves several different genes and environmental factors. Heterogeneous syndromes are seen in patients with IC/PBS, which suggests that the disease should be classified into different subtypes. Abnormal expressions of several bladder epithelial markers, including mast cells, epithelial differentiation proteins, cell membrane proteins, neurotransmitters, and cytokines, are present in IC/BPS. This review discusses the possible biomarkers that may play crucial roles in IC/BPS, and especially focuses on those that have the potential to be used as biomarkers for prognosis and for the determination of the best treatment for patients.