TUESDAY, July 18 (HealthDay News) -- A test that examines nine genes in urine DNA could prove useful in detecting bladder cancer, according to a report in the July 19 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
David Sidransky, M.D., of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, and colleagues studied the urine sediment DNA and tumor DNA of 15 bladder cancer patients and 25 controls to identify biomarkers. They then used the markers to examine urine sediment DNA in 160 bladder cancer patients and in 69 controls.
The researchers found that genetic patterns in urine DNA matched patterns in the tumor DNA, and that their two-stage prediction technique detected bladder cancer with an overall sensitivity of 82 percent and a specificity of 96 percent.
"Larger independent confirmatory cohorts with longitudinal follow-up will be required in future studies to define the impact of this technology on early detection, prognosis and disease monitoring before clinical application," the authors conclude.
Sidransky is entitled to royalties from the sale of diagnostic products described in this research.
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