Urine RNA test flags localized bladder cancer at 95% sensitivity
Researchers describe uRARE-seq, a method that profiles cell-free RNA in urine, in Nature Medicine. They ran it on 683 urine samples from cancer patients and controls. For localized bladder cancer it reached 95% sensitivity at 90% specificity and outperformed urine tumor DNA analysis. It also detected minimal residual disease. In pretreatment urine from 114 patients, responders to intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin showed T cell and other immune signatures, while nonresponders showed higher expression of proliferation-related genes, the authors reported.
A urine test could one day help doctors monitor bladder cancer and choose treatment without invasive procedures. The authors say prospective studies must first show whether it is clinically useful.
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