A recent study reveals that urine tests can actually help to determine the correct phase of bladder cancer or more specifically how far the cancer has spread.
Bladder cancer results in the abnormal growth of cells in the epithelial tissues of the urinary bladder. Early diagnosis of the disease leads to timely treatment and faster recovery.
According to the data provided by the National Cancer Institute, U.S., there were around 14, 330 deaths in the U.S. in 2009 due to balder cancer. It's the seventh most common cancer in the U.K. with approximately 10,000 diagnoses made every year. Around 3,300 men and 1,600 women die of bladder cancer every year in the U.K. reveals, a recent post on medicalnews today.
The study was conducted by a group of researchers at University of Birmingham who tested the level of protein in urine of more than 600 cancer survivors and found that some of the samples contained higher amounts of EpCam . According to the researchers, the higher presence of the specified protein indicates the aggravating nature of the cancer.
"This protein could be used to help doctors to decide what the best course of investigation or treatment for the patients is, and may prevent unnecessary delays," said Dr. Douglas Ward, one of the authors of the study, reads the press release.
The presence of Epcam was previously known to the researchers but the present study throws light on how the specified protein can help to determine the stage of bladder cancer and help in providing treatment accordingly. In fact, as the researchers claim, a simple urine test can actually replace many costlier tests to determine the growth rate of the cancer.
"This research has shed new light on a protein that we've known for some time is linked to certain types of cancer," said Martin Ledwick, the information head(nurse ) at Cancer Research Institute , U.K., in a statement."Developing a urine test to work out how aggressive or advanced a patient's tumour is could replace the need for more invasive and costlier tests used by doctors at the moment."
Smoking is considered to be the pivotal reason for more than half of bladder cancer cases reported in the U.k. Around 50-60 of the male bladder cancer cases reported in the U.K. are caused by smoking reveals a recent survey by National Health Service.
Bladder cancer is usually noticed among elderly persons and the disease relapses time and again. So the patients need to go through regular check-ups to restrict the disease.
