A new study conducted by researchers from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) shows that bladder cancer mutations in a specific gene can be detected in the urine of individuals up to 10 years before clinical diagnosis of the disease. The new results, described in an article in the journal EBioMedicine, could significantly improve the early detection of bladder cancer through a simple urine DNA test.
The test is based on the detection of mutations in the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene; these are the most common mutations in bladder cancer. The ability to detect these TERT mutations in pre-diagnostic urine samples has enormous potential as a non-invasive tool for the early detection of bladder cancer and potentially for the cost-effective screening of individuals at high risk of developing the disease.
It is particularly important given that none of the urine tests currently available are recommended by urological societies, because of a lack of evidence about their efficiency for early detection. Therefore, the diagnosis of bladder cancer still relies largely on invasive and expensive procedures, such as cystoscopy.
News Source: IARC
