Bladder cancer refers to a malignant tumor that occurs on the bladder mucosa. It is the most common malignant tumor of the urinary system and ranks first in the incidence of urogenital tumors in my country.
Among malignant tumors, bladder cancer is said to be the "kindest" cancer. This is because bladder cancer has symptoms in its early stages , which can help bladder cancer be detected early. Compared with other tumors that do not have any symptoms, it is "kinder".
We know that whether cancer is detected at an early or late stage can significantly affect a patient's survival rate. The 5-year survival rate for early-stage bladder cancer is over 80%, for mid-stage bladder cancer is around 50%, and for late-stage bladder cancer, it is less than 20%. Therefore, early detection and early treatment are the keys to the diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer.
The key signal of bladder cancer is hematuria. As a urine storage organ, the bladder stores and urinates urine through expansion and contraction. If there is a tumor in the bladder, when the tumor is still very small, it may rupture and bleed due to the movement of the bladder, and hematuria may occur as the urine is discharged.
About 90% of patients with bladder cancer have hematuria as their initial clinical manifestation, usually painless hematuria. Hematuria can be observed in two ways: the first is visible hematuria, which can be found when urinating; the second is microscopic hematuria, which can be observed through a microscope during routine urine examination during physical examination.
Although it does not necessarily mean that hematuria is bladder cancer, hematuria can come from bladder cancer, or from diseases of the ureters, kidneys and other organs. However, hematuria must be taken seriously because it may be an important opportunity to detect bladder cancer early and improve the survival rate.
What tests can be used to diagnose bladder cancer?
The diagnosis of bladder cancer usually consists of laboratory tests, imaging tests, cystoscopy, pathological diagnosis and genetic testing. Among them, cystoscopy is the gold standard for bladder cancer diagnosis.
Cystoscopy is the most direct way to observe tumors, and later pathological diagnosis and urethral resection treatment rely on cystoscopy. However, cystoscopy is an invasive examination. The examination process will cause severe discomfort and may even cause inflammation and infection, which is a psychological and physical burden for bladder cancer patients.
Bladder cancer is also known as the most expensive cancer because it relapses easily and may require repeated tests and treatments for decades. The NCCN guidelines in the United States require that patients with bladder cancer undergo regular postoperative follow-up and undergo 6-14 cystoscopy examinations within 10 years, which places a double psychological and financial burden on patients.
As mentioned earlier, there are many diagnostic methods for bladder cancer. Since cystoscopy will bring psychological burden to patients, can we reduce the number of cystoscopy examinations based on other diagnostic methods?
invasive testing through urine is undoubtedly the most convenient. You only need to collect morning urine and wait for the results. There are also different ways to test for bladder cancer based on urine. The commonly used clinical urine exfoliated cytology examination is to use a microscope to see whether there are tumor cells in the urine. Urine tumor marker examination can determine whether you have cancer through the positivity of tumor markers such as NMP22, BTA and other indicators. However, the detection sensitivity of these methods is not very high and it is easy to miss detection.
Genetic testing plays an increasingly important role in precision cancer medicine, and many domestic companies are also exploring non-invasive urine diagnosis of bladder cancer through genetic testing. The non-invasive urine mRNA detection technology ( Canhlep-UriBLAD ) independently developed in China is one of them. Canhlep-UriBLAD has good performance in the auxiliary diagnosis of bladder cancer, with an accuracy rate of 93.4% and a detection sensitivity of 92.3%. The high accuracy and sensitivity of this method can greatly reduce the missed detection of bladder cancer, thereby reducing the frequency of cystoscopy.
As a new genetic testing technology, Canhlep-UriBLAD is expected to improve the early diagnosis rate of high-risk groups and the recurrence rate of bladder cancer patients, thereby achieving early detection and early treatment of bladder cancer, reducing treatment costs, alleviating patient suffering, and improving survival. quality.
Even though bladder cancer is the most benign cancer, if it develops to an advanced stage, patients will not only experience severe pain, but once metastasis occurs, their survival time will also be greatly shortened. Therefore, if there are signs of bladder cancer (hematuria, etc.), you need to go to the hospital in time. Early screening, early detection, and early treatment are the key to the diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer.
