A urine test can identify when patients treated for bladder cancer have a return of the disease, it is announced today.
The test successfully predicted the return of cancer in more than 80% of patients – and was able to do so before the disease reached the muscle wall, according to researchers from the University Hospital of Lyon, France.
In contrast cytology only predicted recurrence in 34% of cases in a trial that involved some 348 patients.
The test involves the detection of a faulty protein called TERT.
The findings of the trial are reported in the British Journal of Cancer.
Researcher Professor Alain Ruffion said: “The standard cytology test needs a doctor to look down a microscope to read the results – but the TERT test is read by a machine which is simpler, more accurate and available to use straightaway.
"While the TERT test costs slightly more than standard cytology, it is likely to become cheaper over time.
“The fact that the test doesn’t react to urinary tract infections is very interesting because it shows that it is robust and unlikely to give misleading results.”
Descotes et al. Non-invasive prediction of recurrence in bladder cancer by detecting somatic TERT promoter mutations in urine. British Journal of Cancer 7 July 2017 [abstract]
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