New urinary test able to screen for bladder cancer

Medical experts from Shanghai's Renji Hospital announced that a urine check can be used for bladder cancer screening after confirming that five genes in the urine can be used for developing a precise testing kit which can help be used for an early, non-invasive and convenient check to identify bladder cancer, monitor tumors and for individualized therapy.

The discovery was published in the Journal of Urology as a cover story, the hospital announced on Monday.

Bladder cancer is the most prevalent cancer in the urinary system, ranked as the fourth leading cancer among males. The current diagnostic and monitoring measure is cystoscopy, which is invasive and costly, restricting clinical promotion and use.

Dr Chen Haige from Renji Hospital led his team in collecting tissue samples of 59 bladder cancer cases and comparing them with their urine and blood samples. Doctors found several data points in urine in high concordance with their tumors' DNA. This points have great clinical potential for development into a urine-based testing kit.

During the trial, doctors selected five genes – TP53, KDM6A, FGFR3, PIK3C and ARID1A – to make testing kits and found a 92 percent sensitivity rate.

Such a kit can be utilized for early and widespread screening after being put into clinical use, experts said.