Bladder cancer biomarkers: Current developments and future implementation

Alonso Alvarez, Vinata B. Lokeshwar

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

44 Scopus citations

Abstract

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Bladder cancer biomarker development has advanced significantly over the last decade, but has not yet been able to make a significant impact in the diagnosis and management of the disease. Many available markers are suitable, but do not meet the expectations of physicians and patients. Patients do not want to compromise accuracy in diagnosing bladder cancer for less-invasive tests. The review highlights the latest developments in bladder cancer biomarkers, including markers developed over the last year, and comments on the high standards placed on these markers which have delayed their widespread implementation into the urologic field. RECENT FINDINGS: New markers described in the last year include soluble Fas, urothelial carcinoma-associated 1 and human chorionic gonadotropin β type II genes. The latter two markers represent the contribution of genomic technology to this field. Also described are updates to known markers, including long-term follow-up of hematuria screening, recent studies in DNA methylation for bladder cancer diagnosis and patient perspectives on bladder tumor markers. SUMMARY: Biomarkers for bladder cancer have been intensively scrutinized over the last decade, but despite new findings and good performance characteristics, they are currently not accepted in clinical practice.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)341-346
Number of pages6
JournalCurrent Opinion in Urology
Volume17
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2007
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Bladder cancer
  • Diagnosis
  • Surveillance
  • Tumor markers
  • Urothelial carcinoma

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Urology

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