UroAmp (urinalysis system)

2023: Test Announcement

On March 10, 2023, at the annual congress of the European Association of Urology (EAU) in Milan, the results of a study on the development of new methods for detecting bladder cancer were released.

It is noted that urinary malignancy is in fifth place in the list of the most common cancers in the European Union: more than 200,000 cases of the disease are registered here annually. At the same time, according to statistics, only about half of those diagnosed with a tumor at an advanced stage will live for more than five years. On the contrary, if their cancer is detected early, over 80% of patients have a chance to live more than five years.

Developed a test that detects bladder cancer 12 years before symptoms

According to the EurekAlert resource, scientists from France, Iran and the United States have proposed a new method for detecting bladder cancer. The study is based on the UroAmp test - a general urine test that detects mutations in 60 genes (developed by Convergent Genomics, a subsidiary of Oregon Health Sciences University). Experts have identified ten genes in which mutations are a sign of the development of malignant bladder formation.

Within the framework of the project, more than 50 thousand patients were monitored for ten years. It turned out that in 66% of cases, the new technique made it possible to predict the risk of cancer 12 years before the actual appearance of symptoms. In a number of patients, bladder cancer was diagnosed within seven years of urine collection, and the test was able to predict tumor development with 86% accuracy. It is also said that the reliability of obtaining negative results reaches 96%.

Diagnosis of bladder cancer relies on expensive and invasive procedures such as cystoscopy. Having a simpler urine test that could accurately diagnose and even predict the likelihood of cancer for years to come can help identify the disease at an early stage and avoid unnecessary cystoscopies in healthy patients, said Dr. Florence Le Calvez-Kelm of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).[1]

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