The study published in Scandinavian Journal of Urology (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28422550) was conducted at four Swedish hospitals; Uppsala University Hospital, Danderyds hospital, Enköping Hospital and Umeå University Hospital. Principal investigators was Assoc. Prof Amir Sherif, Umeå University.
Bladder cancer is a common and resource-intensive cancer. Patients often need extensive and long-term follow-up after initial diagnosis. Methods for early detection and regular follow-up are of great importance.
Cystoscopy, a procedure in which the inside of the bladder is examined using an optical instrument, is the most commonly used method for detection of bladder cancer.
The use of urine-based markers in evaluation of bladder cancer is an interesting approach since the tumors are constantly in contact with urine. UBC® Rapid is a non-invasive test detecting cytokeratin 8 and 18 fragments released from urothelial cells into the urine as markers for bladder cancer. UBC® Rapid combined with a reader is the first quantitative point-of-care system for bladder cancer, enabling risk stratification in a point-of-care setting.
In the Swedishstudy, 169 bladder cancer patients, including both newly detected and recurrent cases, were included together with 101 controls. The sensitivity for detection of all cases was 71% at 61% specificity. A higher sensitivity of 79% for high-risk bladder cancer was demonstrated.
These results, together with previous studies, demonstrate a high sensitivity for detection of high-risk bladder cancer by UBC® Rapid.
