Inhibition of stearoyl CoA desaturase-1 activity suppresses tumour progression and improves prognosis in human bladder cancer

Urinary bladder neoplasm ranks among the most prevalent cancers globally. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are known to significantly contribute to cancer progression and poor outcomes. In this study, we established bladder CSCs and identified key differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between these cells and the parental bladder cancer cells. Analysis of bioinformatics data and clinical samples from local hospitals highlighted stearoyl CoA desaturase-1 (SCD) as a pivotal DEG. We observed a notable correlation between SCD gene expression and poor prognosis in bladder cancer patients. Loss-of-function experiments demonstrated that both the SCD inhibitor A939572 and SCD gene interference reduced cell proliferation and invasion. These findings suggest that SCD could be a novel marker for predicting tumor progression and poor prognosis in bladder cancer patients.