Researchers have found a new and easier way to detect bladder cancer using a simple urine test.
This new method could help doctors avoid using uncomfortable and expensive procedures like cystoscopy, which involves putting a tube through the urethra to look inside the bladder. The findings were published in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.
Bladder cancer is one of the most common and dangerous cancers in the urinary system. It has a high chance of coming back even after treatment. Right now, doctors often use cystoscopy or a test called cytology to find bladder cancer.
Cytology checks urine for tumor cells but is not very accurate. Because of this, patients often need repeated cystoscopies, which can be painful and costly.
In this new study, researchers looked at urine samples from 156 people with bladder cancer and 79 people without it. They focused on small pieces of DNA, called cell-free DNA (cfDNA), which are released by cells into urine.
Using a method called real-time PCR, the scientists measured how many DNA fragments were in each sample and how long or short they were. They studied five different genes: ACTB, AR, MYC, BCAS1, and STOX1.
One important discovery was that a small fragment of the MYC gene was very good at identifying a dangerous form of bladder cancer called muscle-invasive bladder cancer.
It correctly detected this type of cancer 97% of the time and had a strong ability to predict which patients had the disease. The MYC gene controls how cells grow and divide, so changes in this gene can be a strong sign of cancer.
The researchers also found that certain other genes gave useful clues about how serious the cancer was. For example, a larger amount of short fragments from the AR gene and a specific pattern of the ACTB gene were linked to more advanced cancer. These gene changes could help doctors understand how far the disease has spread and if it might come back.
Lead researcher Dr. Pilar Medina from the Health Research Institute Hospital La Fe in Valencia, Spain, said the most exciting part was how well the MYC gene fragment worked in spotting aggressive bladder cancer. Her team believes this could be a powerful tool to replace or reduce the need for cystoscopies in many patients.
Raquel Herranz, another researcher in the same team, added that this kind of urine test fits perfectly with the growing interest in non-invasive tests and personalized medicine.
She pointed out that their study is one of the first to look at urine DNA changes in patients at many different stages of bladder cancer. This could make it easier to catch the disease early or monitor it over time using just a urine sample.
Dr. Medina summed it up by saying that urine has more information than we thought. Their findings show that urine testing could completely change how doctors find and treat bladder cancer, making care safer, simpler, and more comfortable for patients.
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