Wnt signalling pathway in bladder cancer

Bladder cancer (BC) is one of the most common tumours of the urinary system and is also known as a highly malignant tumour. In addition to conventional diagnosis and treatment methods, recent research has focused on studying the molecular mechanisms related to BC, in the hope that new, less toxic and effective targeted anticancer drugs and new diagnostic markers can be discovered. It is known that the Wingless (Wnt) signalling pathway and its related genes, proteins and other substances are involved in multiple biological processes of various tumours. Clarifying the contribution of the Wnt signalling pathway in bladder tumours will help establish early diagnosis indicators, develop new therapeutic drugs and evaluate the prognosis for BC. This review aims to summarise previous studies related to BC and the Wnt signalling pathway, with a focus on exploring the participating substances and their mechanisms in the regulation of the Wnt signalling pathway to better determine how to promote new chemotherapeutic drugs, potential therapeutic targets and diagnostic biomarkers. •Wnt signalling pathway has a clear regulatory role in bladder cancer.•Both canonical and non-canonical Wnt signalling pathways are involved in the progression of bladder cancer.•A variety of substances associated to Wnt signalling pathway can be used as therapeutic targets for bladder cancer.•Methylation of Wnt signalling pathway components can affect the progression of bladder cancer.•The tumour microenvironment of bladder cancer is also related to the Wnt signalling pathway.