The utLIFE-UC assay can be used to accurately diagnose and monitor non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), according to a study recently published in MedComm.
One of the challenges in bladder cancer care is the detection of NMIBC, which makes up 75% of newly diagnosed cases of bladder cancer. Even after diagnosis and treatment, cancer recurrence is common, with a one-year recurrence rate estimated to be as high as 61%.
Researchers sought to investigate the use of the utLIFE-UC in aiding disease diagnosis and surveillance. The utLIFE-UC is a urinary assay, meaning that it uses a sample of a patient’s urine to investigate the presence of one or more disease markers.
Read more about bladder cancer testing and diagnosis
The research team enrolled 108 patients with NMIBCC. All patients underwent preoperative utDNA testing; however, three patients failed the test and were excluded. Among the 105 patients who were evaluated preoperatively, 95 (90.5%) were tested positive on the utLIFE-UC assay. In addition, the utLIFE-UC assay had a comparable performance in detecting de novo (newly diagnosed) and recurrent cancer.
A total of 47 patients were monitored for cancer recurrence after having received transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT), a surgical procedure to remove the part of the bladder where the cancer is located. Of these, 16 (34.0%) developed recurrence during a median follow-up of 14.5 months. All 16 of these patients tested positive during preoperative tLIFE-UC.
A total of 20 patients underwent utDNA examination prior to re-TURBT (a follow-up to the TURBT surgery). Eight of these 20 patients (40%) had residual tumors; all were accurately identified by the utLIFE-UC.
Researchers conducted utLIFE-UC analysis in 47 patients following TURBT but prior to the first follow-up cystoscopy (ie, a clinical procedure using a flexible tube with a camera attached at the end to visualize the bladder and the urethra). Twenty-one patients (44.7%) tested positive; this corresponded with a significantly higher risk of recurrence compared with patients who tested negative.
An analysis of 16 patients with postoperative recurrent cancer and 31 patients without found that 28 of the 47 individuals (59.5%) had positive utLIFE-UC results. Statistical studies showed that a positive result at any time point was significantly associated with a reduction in recurrence-free survival. Furthermore, researchers found that the utLIFE-UC was effective at predicting recurrence with a median lead time of 73.5 days before clinical detection.
“Collectively, these findings support the integration of utDNA monitoring into clinical practice to decrease reliance on invasive procedures, advance personalized management of NMIBC and improve patient outcomes,” the researchers wrote.
Sign up here to get the latest news, perspectives, and information about bladder cancer sent directly to your inbox. Registration is free and only takes a minute.