Urine Biomarker for enhanced clinical staging of bladder cancer in RC Candidates
The study aimed to improve the identification of patients who respond well to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) before undergoing bladder removal surgery (radical cystectomy) by developing a urine-based molecular assay. They collected urine samples from two groups of bladder cancer patients, one to benchmark the assay and the other to assess its performance in correlating with response to chemotherapy. The results showed that the assay accurately correlated with the presence of residual disease after chemotherapy, with a sensitivity of 91%, specificity of 50%, and an overall accuracy of 82%. This urine-based test could potentially help identify patients who can safely avoid radical cystectomy and opt for active surveillance and additional therapy if needed.