THEbladder cancer is ranks fifth in incidence among all cancers. Over men the risk is double compared to women. Fortunately, today in Italy prevention has one more weapon. For the first time, at theSan Carlo di Nancy hospital in Romeyou use a innovative urine test for even earlier diagnoses. It is indeed faster and more accurate and opens up new perspectives for the future, not just for new diagnosesbut also for patient monitoring a recurrence risk.
Bladder cancer numbers
Bladder cancer accounts for approx 3% of all diagnosed cancers. According to “The numbers of cancer in Italy 2021” of theItalian Cancer Registry Association, in 2020 in Italy have been carried out about 25,500 new diagnoses: 20,500 men and 5,000 women. There 5-year survival and above 80%for both men and women, but between 30% and 70% of patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer are subject to recurrences.
The advantages of the new test
As with all forms of cancer, one early and timely diagnosis it is essential for a effective intervention that minimizes the impact of the disease on the patient as much as possible. “We have been involved in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with bladder cancer for a long time. The new test that we have introduced into clinical practice has proven effective in diagnosing bladder tumors of different grades and stages» explains the Professor Pierluigi Bovedirector of the UOC of Urology of the San Carlo di Nancy Hospital, with over 2,000 urological surgery operations per year.
How it works
«Today in the diagnosis of tumors the so-called biomarkers and that is biological indicators related to certain pathologies and traceable in body secretions. The test consists of trace the MCM5, a protein found in high amounts in the urine of patients with bladder cancer. By virtue of the good predictive value of this test, we may be able to better manage the subsequent diagnostic-therapeutic path of these patients, directing them to more invasive procedures only in the event of a positive test», continues the expert.
The limits of the “classical” diagnosis
In the presence of symptoms that may suggest a bladder neoplasmprimarily in the presence of blood in urine (hematuria), frequent, profuse and painful urinationusually first-level investigations are used, such as ultrasound and urinary cytology, a microscopic analysis of a urine sample collected on 3 different days. “There urinary cytology it is a laborious exam since it requires at least 3 urine samples picked up at different timesthe analysis of the result is extremely operator dependentthe sensitivity of the test results low mostly in the less aggressive forms of tumor. Finally, the results often take weeks to interpret. All these limitations can potentially be overcome using the new test,” comments Professor Bove.
The diagnostics of the future
Studies have confirmed that the new test identifies the presence of a high-grade tumor in 97% of cases, a higher value than previous protocols with cytology, whose accuracy is 55% in the samples analysed. “This new exam is faster, more accurate and easier to make because it does not require sample collection in sterile tubes. It also has a percentage sharply lower than false negatives compared to the cytological examination”, concludes the expert.
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