The Medical University of
South Carolina (MUSC) Foundation for Research and Development announced a
promising new diagnostic tool to detect and monitor bladder cancer. Current
tests for bladder cancer have shown to be accurate for only 40 percent of
diagnoses. MUSC's new test has demonstrated 90 percent accuracy (100
percent specificity) in human urine samples of patients with various
degrees of bladder cancer, confirming a newly discovered cell receptor's
efficacy in diagnosing that cancer.
The new cell receptor is found on cancerous cells. When the receptor
sloughs off the cancer cells, it can be found in urine and prostatic fluid
(in men). The first of its kind, the receptor offers great potential as a
non- invasive, easy-to-make dipstick or rapid urine test that could
transform the screening and diagnosis process for bladder cancer. The
receptor was discovered by MUSC's Omar Moussa, Ph.D., Dennis Watson, Ph.D.,
and Perry Halushka, Ph.D.
Patients undergo bladder cancer screening if they are determined to
have certain risk factors including a previous diagnosis of bladder cancer,
birth defects of the bladder, advanced age (over 55), or work-related
exposure to certain chemicals. Bladder cancer affects males more than
women, as well as more whites than other ethnicities, according to the
American Cancer Society. The organization estimates that of the
approximately 69,000 new bladder cancer cases in the U.S. this year, almost
52,000 will be in men. Current studies report that patients with
successfully treated bladder cancer still have a 50- 80 percent recurrence
rate, making this potential urine-based test perfect for home cancer
recurrence monitoring. For the methods most routinely used to detect or
monitor bladder cancer, convenience, comfortability, and pain are issues
related to patients' experiences with those tests. The new diagnostic test
from MUSC could eliminate the need for invasive tests like cystoscopy and
biopsies that can be painful or cause medical complications.
Medical University of South Carolina
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