The clinical relevance of urine-based markers for diagnosis of bladder cancer

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the diagnostic relevance of urinary fibronectin (FN), telomerase (RTA), and cytokeratin 20 (CK20) mRNA in comparison with voided urine cytology (VUC). The study included 132 patients with bladder cancer, 60 patients with benign bladder lesions, and 48 healthy individuals. All were subjected to urine cytology, estimation of fibronectin by ELISA, RTA by TRAP, and CK20 mRNA by conventional RT–PCR in urothelial cells from voided urine. The best cutoff point for FN was determined by receiver operating characteristic curve (41.7 ng/mg protein) revealed the highest sensitivity for malignant (80%) followed by the benign (70%) than the healthy individuals (4.1%) at P < 0.001. Also, RTA and VUC showed significant difference among the three investigated groups (P < 0.001). The overall sensitivity (89.3%) and specificity (98.4%) were the highest for CK20 mRNA. Combined sensitivity of VUC with FN, RTA, and CK20 mRNA together (98.4%) was higher than either the combined sensitivity of VUC with any of them or than that of the biomarker alone. Accordingly, when the diagnostic efficacy was considered, CK20 mRNA had the highest sensitivity and specificity compared to all investigated markers.     

Clinical sensitivity of p53 mutation detection in matched bladder tumor, bladder wash, and voided urine specimens

BACKGROUND: Mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor gene may correlate with an increased risk of recurrence and disease progression in patients with bladder carcinoma. The ability to accurately and sensitively detect p53 mutations in cytology specimens may be of benefit in the treatment of bladder carcinoma patients with superficial, minimally invasive disease. METHODS: Genomic DNA was isolated from 49 cases, each of which was comprised of matched bladder tumor tissue, bladder wash, and voided urine specimens obtained concurrently at a single institution. The genomic DNA was analyzed for mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor gene using a p53 mutation detection assay. Automated dideoxy sequencing of mutant specimens also was performed. RESULTS: Of the 49 cases, 29 (59%) showed no evidence of p53 mutations in the tumor, bladder wash, or voided urine specimens. Of the remaining 20 cases, 19 showed evidence of mutations in the tumor. Of these 19 p53 mutant bladder tumors, 16 (84%) were detected in the matched bladder wash and 16 (84%) were detected in the matched voided urine specimens. One case resulted in the detection of mutant p53 in the voided urine and the bladder wash, but not in the tumor. Analysis of the results between tumor tissue and bladder wash or tumor and voided urine showed 84.2% sensitivity, 96.8% specificity, and 91.8% accuracy. Sequence analysis of the mutant cases showed that the mutations detected in the tumor tissue were the same mutations detected in the bladder wash and the voided urine specimens. CONCLUSIONS: Both voided urine and bladder wash specimens from patients with bladder carcinoma were found to provide a high rate of clinical accuracy for the determination of the p53 gene status in patients with bladder tumors.     

The Performance of the Xpert Bladder Cancer Monitor Test and Voided Urinary Cytology in the Follow-up of Urinary Bladder Tumors

BackgroundCystoscopy in complement with urinary cytology represents the gold standard for the follow-up of patients with urinary bladder tumours. Xpert Bladder Cancer Monitor Test (XBC) is a novel mRNA-based urine test for bladder cancer surveillance. The aim of the study was to evaluate the performance of the XBC and voided urinary cytology (VUC) in the follow-up of bladder tumours.Patients and methodsThe XBC was performed on stabilized voided urine and VUC was performed on urine samples. The results were compared to cystoscopic findings and histopathological results after transurethral resection of the bladder lesion.ResultsFor the prediction of malignant histopathological result sensitivity, the specificity and negative predictive value were 76.9%, 9 7.5% and 93.0% for the XBC and 38.4%, 9 7.5% and 83.3%, respectively for VUC. For the prediction of suspicious or positive cystoscopic finding sensitivity, the specificity and negative predictive value were 75.0%, 95.2%, and 93.0% respectively for the XBC and 41.7%, 97.6%, and 85.4% for VUC. The sensitivities for papilary urothelial neoplasms of low malignant potential (PUNLMP), low- and high-grade tumours were 0.0%, 66.7% an d 100.0% for the XBC and 0.0%, 66 .7% and 42.9%, respectively for VUC.ConclusionsThe XBC showed significantly higher overall sensitivity and negative predictive value than VUC and could be used to increase the recommended follow-up cystoscopy time intervals. Complementing the XBC and voided urinary cytology does not improve performance in comparison to the XBC alone.Key words: cystoscopy, Xpert BC Monitor Test, urinary bladder neoplasm, voided urinary cytology     

尿细胞角蛋白检测与尿脱落细胞学检查在膀胱癌诊断中的价值

目的:探讨尿细胞角蛋白检测与尿脱落细胞学检查在膀胱移行细胞癌诊断中的价值。方法:136例怀疑膀胱癌者,进行尿细胞角蛋白8和18的含量(UBC值)。检测与尿细胞学检查,其中87例经组织学证实为膀胱移行细胞癌。比较两者诊断膀胱癌的敏感性和特异性。结果:尿细胞角蛋白的敏感性为70.1%,特异性为73.3%;尿细胞学的敏感性为42.5%,特异性为83.7%。尿细胞角蛋白在膀胱癌不同分级和分期中的敏感性优于尿细胞学(P<0.05)。结论:尿细胞角蛋白的检测在早期诊断膀胱癌方面优于尿细胞学检查,可作为膀胱癌的早期检测指标。     

Combined morphologic and fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis of voided urine samples for the detection and follow‐up of bladder cancer in patients with benign urine cytology

BACKGROUND.

Bladder cancer is among the 5 most common malignancies worldwide. Patients with bladder cancer are closely followed with periodic cystoscopies and urine cytology analyses due to the significant risk of tumor recurrence. The UroVysion fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) test demonstrated higher sensitivity over urine cytology in detecting bladder cancer by most comparative studies.

METHODS.

In the current study, the diagnostic usefulness of a combined cytology and FISH analysis approach was tested using the Duet automatic scanning system in patients with benign urine cytology who were being monitored for recurrent urothelial carcinoma or being assessed for various urologic symptoms.

RESULTS.

By combining the benefits of conventional cytology with molecular diagnostics, a more sensitive detection of bladder cancer was attained. All patients who had positive cystoscopy concomitantly with urine sampling were detected by combined analysis. Additional patients that developed transitional cell carcinoma during a follow‐up period of 24 months had a previous positive result on combined analysis. Only 2 patients with a negative combined analysis result presented with late disease recurrence (20 months and 22 months, respectively, after the negative test). Therefore, negative combined analysis was found to be predictive of a lack of disease recurrence for at least 12 months. In this timeframe, the overall sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value (NPV), and positive predictive values of the combined analysis test were 100%, 65%, 100%, and 44%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS.

Given the absolute sensitivity and NPV of the combined analysis test, the management of patients with a negative combined analysis result might be revised and allow for more flexible assessment and management of bladder cancer patients relying more on urine bound tests. Cancer (Cancer Cytopathol) 2007. © 2007 American Cancer Society.     

The sensitivity of bladder wash flow cytometry, bladder wash cytology, and voided cytology in the detection of bladder carcinoma

The sensitivity of voided urinary cytology (VUC), bladder wash cytology (BWC), and bladder wash flow cytometry (BWFCM) in detecting cancer was studied in 70 patients with biopsy-proven bladder tumors. There were 11 Grade I papillomas, 14 Grade II TA, 18 Grade II-III TIS, 19 Grade II-III T1, and eight Grade II-III T2 carcinomas. One to five VUCs per patient (mean, 2.63) were obtained within the 24 hours preceding biopsy. At endoscopy a bladder wash specimen was obtained and divided for cytologic and flow cytometric examinations. For all tumor categories combined, the sensitivity for one, two, and three voided cytology examinations per patient was 41%, 41%, and 60%, respectively. The sensitivity of a single BWC was 61%, of a single BWFCM, 83%. Thus, one BWFCM is more sensitive than three VUC (binomial test; P = 0.006); one BWC is more sensitive than two VUC (P = 0.01); and one BWFCM is more sensitive than one BWC (P = 0.003). These findings remain significant when papillomas are excluded from the analysis (P less than or equal to 0.03) and when papillomas and T2 tumors are jointly excluded (P less than or equal to 0.02). Only four of 70 patients (6%) had their cancers detected by VUC and/or BWC rather than BWFCM. In summary, irrigation cytology specimens are more sensitive than voided urinary cytology, and bladder wash flow cytometry is more sensitive than either in diagnosing bladder cancer. Flow cytometry is more sensitive because of the better sampling of bladder irrigation compared with voided urine and because of the measurement technique itself.     

Evaluation of two new urinary tumor markers: bladder tumor fibronectin and cytokeratin 18 for the diagnosis of bladder cancer.

Our objectives were to evaluate the diagnostic value of two new urinary tumor markers, cytokeratin 18 (CK18) and bladder tumor fibronectin (BTF), for the detection and monitoring of bladder cancer. The study comprised 931 urine samples belonging to 402 subjects: 112 individuals under suspicion for a primary bladder tumor (group 1); 104 bladder cancer patients under scheduled follow-up (group 2); 109 bladder cancer patients receiving intravesical instillations (group 3); 45 patients with other urological diseases (group 4); and 32 healthy subjects (group 5). Voided urine samples were collected before cystoscopies, between them and before intravesical instillations. CK18 and BTF tests were measured by chemiluminescent immunoassays. Optimal receiver operating characteristic cutoffs of 7.4 microg/L for CK18 and 52.8 microg/liter for BTF rendered overall sensitivities of 66.2% for CK18 and 80.0% for BTF at specificities of 88.4 and 74.7%, respectively. Urinary cytology provided a sensitivity of 29.2% at a specificity of 99.1%. Sensitivities were 80.8, 74.2, and 82.3% for BTF and 71.1, 77.4, and 64.7% for CK18 for groups 1 to 3, respectively. False positive rates were higher for BTF in all groups of patients. Elevated urinary tumor markers during the monitoring of patients with bladder cancer could detect recurrence sooner than scheduled cystoscopies. Persistence of negative markers was greatly indicative of free of disease status in follow-up. CK18 and BTF in urine may eventually prove to be of benefit for specific patients with bladder carcinoma given its higher sensitivity compared with cytology. In selected patients, namely those with persistent negative urinary CK18 and BTF, the number of cystoscopies could be reduced.     

Alternatives to cytology in the management of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer

Opinion statement The natural history of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer is characterized by a high probability of recurrence and in the case of high-grade tumors, progression to muscle invasive cancer. This mandates a follow-up strategy designed to identify recurrences in the bladder early in their evolution in order to facilitate early intervention and ablation. Urine cytol-ogy is considered the gold standard urine biomarker. Although specificity exceeds 90% to 95%, its overall sensitivity ranges from 40% to 60% in expert hands and is both tumor grade and operator dependent. While cytology is an excellent test for detection of high-grade disease, the sensitivity is particularly weak for the detection of low grade tumors. This has spawned an entire field of research of in vitro diagnostic tests and cell-based assays in order to improve the diagnostic accuracy for detection of incident or recurrent disease. To date, the US Food and Drug Administration approved dipstick and immunoassays marketed as point-of-care tests. The point-of-care tests are intended for use as an adjunct to cystoscopy and cytology, and may have a role in the office evaluation of hema-turia patients. Monoclonal antibody-based tests combined with cytology may improve the diagnostic accuracy and are superior to cytology alone. A recently approved cell-based assay, utilizing fluorescent in situ hybridization technology, may help resolve suspicious cytologies, and provide early and additional information about the biology of the bladder urothelium beyond that provided by cytology, a marker of disease relatively late in evolution. Novel promising markers are in various stages of clinical testing, and a panel of biomarkers may serve in the future as a feasible alternative to urine cytology and cystos-copy for the screening, detection, and follow-up of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.     

Significance of Positive Urine Cytology on Progression and Cancer-Specific Mortality of Non–Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer

BackgroundPositive results from voided urine cytology (VUC) indicate the fragility of the intercellular adhesion of bladder cancer cells, a critical biological process for invasion and metastasis, along with the presence of atypical cells. Few studies have focused on the prognostic role of VUC in non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).MethodsBetween 2000 and 2010, 326 patients diagnosed pathologically with Ta or T1 bladder urothelial carcinoma underwent 597 transurethral resections of bladder tumor (TURBTs). Clinicopathological data were prospectively collected at each TURBT. Reports of cells of class IIIb or greater were considered positive VUC results. Muscle-invasive or metastatic recurrences were considered progression. Risk factors for progression and cancer-specific mortality (CSM) were determined using time-fixed and time-dependent Cox models. Variables at the study entry and at each TURBT were used for time-fixed and time-dependent models, respectively.ResultsThe 5-year cumulative progression and CSM rates were, respectively, 7% and 5% (median follow-up, 46 months). The 5-year cumulative progression and CSM rates for patients with positive VUC were 20% and 15%, respectively, compared with 2% (P < .0001) and 2% (P = .0002), respectively, for patients with negative VUC results. A positive VUC result was a significant and independent risk factor for progression and CSM in the time-fixed and time-dependent models. In time-dependent models, 7 predictors for progression or CSM were identified (positive VUC results, T1 disease, lack of intravesical instillation, higher prior recurrence rate, higher histological grade, male gender, and advanced age), whereas 3 predictors were identified in time-fixed models (positive VUC, T1 disease, and higher prior recurrence rate). VUC results consistently outperformed histological grade as a prognostic predictor.ConclusionPositive VUC results predict the progression and CSM of NMIBC, independent of and outperforming histological grade.     

尿液中尿膀胱癌抗原和钙网蛋白联合检测对原发性膀胱癌的诊断价值

目的评价尿液中尿膀胱癌抗原（UBC）和钙网蛋白（CRT）联合检测对原发性膀胱癌的诊断价值。方法 76例膀胱癌患者、50例泌尿系统良性疾病患者均在膀胱镜检查前留取尿液,用ELISA法进行UBC、CRT定量检测,同时进行尿液中脱落细胞学检测。结果 UBC和CRT诊断膀胱癌的敏感性分别为89.47%和82.89%,高于脱落细胞学的51.32%（P〈0.05）;3种诊断方法对膀胱癌的诊断特异性分别为92.00%、78.00%和94.00%。联合检测UBC和CRT诊断膀胱癌的敏感性和特异性高达94.74%、94.00%。结论尿液中UBC和CRT是早期诊断膀胱癌较好的肿瘤标志物,而两者联合检测能进一步提高诊断效率。     

The diagnostic efficacy of urinary TGF-beta1 and VEGF in bladder cancer: comparison with voided urine cytology

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of urinary transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in comparison with voided urine cytology in the detection of bladder cancer. This study included 120 patients with bladder cancer, 54 patients with benign urological disorders and 55 healthy volunteers. Urine supernatant was used for estimation of TGF-beta1 and VEGF by ELISA. VEGF was detected by Western blot (WB) analysis in the urine supernatant of randomly selected bladder cancer patients. The urine sediment was used for cytology. There was a statistically significant difference in the median levels of TGF-beta1 (P=0.002) and VEGF (P=0.000) between the control, benign and malignant groups. The concordance rate of VEGF ELISA with VEGF WB was 96.3%. The overall sensitivity and specificity were 70.8% and 90.8% for voided urine cytology, 71.6% and 59.6% for TGF-beta1, and 76.7% and 61.5% for VEGF. The combined use of voided urine cytology with TGF-beta1 and VEGF improved the sensitivity up to 94.9%, although it lowered specificity to 62.0%. There was a significant association between positivity rate of TGF-beta1 and positive urine cytology samples (P=0.023). Median level and positivity rate of VEGF were significantly associated with early stage (I, II) of bladder carcinoma (P=0.01 and 0.025, respectively). Our data indicate that urinary TGF-beta1 and VEGF had higher sensitivities compared to voided urine cytology. Moreover, the combined sensitivity of voided urine cytology with TGF-beta1 and VEGF together was higher than sensitivity of voided urine cytology alone in detection of bladder cancer.     

血型抗原Lewis X免疫组化染色法与尿液脱落细胞学对膀胱移行细胞癌的诊断比较

目的:采用多中心临床试验方案,以病理诊断为金标准,比较尿液Lewis X抗原免疫组化染色法与尿液脱落细胞学(voided urine cytology,VUC)对膀胱移行细胞癌(TCC)的诊断价值。方法:受试对象为258例因怀疑膀胱癌收住入院的患者以及97例膀胱癌保留膀胱手术后随访患者。尿液脱落细胞标本分别行常规细胞学检查和免疫组化Envision二步法Lewis X抗原染色,计数每100个脱落细胞所含阳性染色细胞数目。结果:根据ROC曲线得出最佳阈值为5个阳性细胞/100脱落细胞,此时灵敏度单次试验为82.1%~84.2%,特异性为80.3%~78.9%,2次测定作为平行试验灵敏度为86.8%,特异性为77.0%;灵敏度提高,特异性略有下降。以11个阳性细胞/100脱落细胞为阈值的灵敏度和特异性分别为66.0%和95.4%。VUC的灵敏度和特异性分别为47.6%和94.7%。结论:Lewis X抗原灵敏度高于VUC,对低分级、早期肿瘤差别尤其明显。与B型超声结合可以提高灵敏度。     

Noninvasive diagnosis of bladder carcinoma by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay detection of CD44 isoforms in exfoliated urothelia.

The expression of variant isoforms of the adhesion molecule CD44 is correlated with the onset of neoplasia in many carcinomas. We have previously shown that noninvasive detection of bladder carcinoma is possible by analysis of anomalous CD44 expression in exfoliated urothelia. Although the sensitivity and specificity values obtained for the detection of bladder tumors using RT-PCR and Western blotting methods were superior to those obtained using urine cytology, the application of such techniques is inconvenient for routine diagnostic use. We now report the design and development of a sandwich-ELISA system for the reliable detection of CD44 protein extracted from sedimented urothelial cells in voided urine. Naturally micturated urine samples were obtained from 53 patients with newly diagnosed bladder cancer and from 65 subjects with no evidence of disease; patients with gross hematuria were excluded because of interference with the assay. To demonstrate the diagnostic potential of the system, a "gate" was imposed at N (max), i.e., the highest absorbance value obtained from a sample known to be tumor free. All values above this value were assumed to be indicative of the presence of a tumor. Using this parameter, 42 of 53 (81.1%) patients with histologically confirmed bladder tumors were correctly diagnosed. Correspondingly, under these conditions, the assay is 100% specific for tumor detection, with a sensitivity of 81.1%, which equates to a positive predictive value of 100% and a negative predictive value of 81.1%. A further 54 patients who had previously received treatment for bladder cancer but were currently clinically disease-free were also investigated. Of these, 47 of 54 (87%) were correctly diagnosed to be tumor-free, which in this group equates to a positive predictive value of 87% and a negative predictive value of 100%. The data presented demonstrate that the rapid and accurate detection of elevated levels of CD44 protein isoforms in exfoliated urothelial cells is applicable to the identification and monitoring of primary and recurrent bladder cancer.     

Sensitive detection of transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder by microsatellite analysis of cells exfoliated in urine.

Transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) is the most common bladder tumor. Urine cytology can identify most high-grade tumors but sensitivity is lower if one includes lesions of all grades. Microsatellite marker alterations have been found in many tumor types including bladder cancer and have been used to detect cancer cells in body fluids including urine. The aim of our study is to further evaluate feasibility and sensitivity of microsatellite analysis to detect bladder cancer cells in urine. We studied 55 individuals: 21 with symptoms suggestive of bladder cancer, 23 patients with previous history of TCC and 11 healthy subjects. Genomic DNA was extracted from blood lymphocytes, urine sediment, bladder washings and tumor or normal bladder mucosa. Twenty highly informative microsatellite markers were analyzed for loss of heterozigosity (LOH) and microsatellite instability (MIN) by polymerase chain reaction. Microsatellite analysis of urine identified 33 of 34 (97%) patients with either primary or tumor recurrence, whereas urine cytology identified 27 of 34 (79%) patients (p = 0.0001). Detection of microsatellite abnormalities improved the sensitivity of detecting low-grade and/or stage bladder tumor: from 75-95% for grades G1-G2 and from 75-100% for pTis-pTa tumors. Bladder washings from 25 patients were also analyzed, and in all cases results were identical to those obtained from voided urine. None of the 16 patients without evidence of TCC showed LOH and/or MIN in urine samples or bladder washings. Interestingly, in a patient with persistent bladder mucosa abnormalities, microsatellite alterations were demonstrated 8 months before the histopathologic diagnosis of tumor recurrence. These results further indicate that microsatellite marker analysis is more sensitive than conventional urine cytology in detecting bladder cancer cells in urine and represents a potential clinical tool for monitoring patients with low-grade/stage TCC.     

Urinary tumor marker for urothelial cancer]

The urinary tumor markers BTA, BFP and NMP22 used for urothelial cancer in Japan are reviewed briefly. We also evaluate and compare the sensitivity and specificity of BTA, BFP and NMP22 with urine cytology in detecting bladder cancer in 24 of our patients. The results showed that the sensitivity with urine cytology, BTA, BFP and NMP22 was 37, 54, 66 and 62% respectively. The specificity of BTA, BFP and NMP22 with urine cytology was 100, 65, 60 and 70% respectively. The sensitivity with BTA, BFP and NMP22 for urothelial cancer was higher than that with urine cytology. However, all except for urine cytology showed high false positive rates (83-90%) for urinary tract infection. These markers may thus complement urine cytology, which has a low sensitivity for urothelial cancer. Quite possibly they could act as low-cost and useful tumor markers, which could in turn reduce the number of invasive cystoscopic examinations. However, considering their high false positive rates for benign disease such as urinary tract infection, we must acknowledge that an ideal urothelial tumor marker, which is simple, non-invasive, inexpensive and accurate with high sensitivity and specificity has yet to be developed.     

联合检测UBC、HA和CK20诊断膀胱癌的临床价值

背景与目的:膀胱癌是最常见的泌尿系统肿瘤,尿脱落细胞学检查是无创性诊断的金标准,但敏感性较低.本研究探讨联合运用尿膀胱癌抗原(urinary bladder cancer,UBC)、透明质酸(hyaluronic acid,HA)和细胞角蛋白20(cytokeratin 20,CK20)诊断膀胱癌的临床价值.方法:对64例膀胱癌患者、20例泌尿系良性疾病患者,在膀胱镜检查之前留尿,分别采用酶链免疫吸附实验、放射免疫分析和逆转录聚合酶链反应检测UBC、HA和CK20在尿液中的表达,同时行脱落细胞学检查,分析比较4种方法诊断膀胱癌的临床价值.结果:UBC、HA和CK20诊断膀胱癌的敏感性分别为85.9%(55/64)、89.1%(57/64)、78.1%(50/64),与脱落细胞学(40.6%)检查比较,差异有统计学意义(P<0.01);4种方法诊断膀胱癌的特异性分别为85,0%(17/20)、80.0%(16/20)、80%(16/20)和95%(19/20).各分级和分期肿瘤UBC、HA和CK20的敏感性分别高于尿脱落细胞学检查,UBC值各分级和分期比较差异无统计学意义(P>0.05).HA检测G2、G3组较G1组明显增高(P<0.01),但G2、G3组间比较差异无统计学意义(P>0.05);各分期之间比较差异无统计学意义(P>0.05).CK20检测随肿瘤的分级与分期的增高,敏感性增高(P<0.01).联合运用UBC、HA和CK20敏感性可达96.9%,特异性达100%.结论:联合UBC、HA和CK20能提高诊断膀胱癌的敏感性和特异性,初步诊断能够代替膀胱镜检查.     

Diagnostic Evaluation of Urinary Angiogenin (ANG) and Clusterin (CLU) as Biomarker for Bladder Cancer

Bladder carcinoma is an important worldwide health problem. Both cystoscopy and urine cytology used in detecting bladder cancer suffer from drawbacks where cystoscopy is an invasive method and urine cytology shows low sensitivity in low grade tumors. This study validates easier and less time-consuming techniques to evaluate the value of combined use of angiogenin and clusterin in comparison and combination with voided urine cytology in the detection of bladder cancer patients. This study includes malignant (bladder cancer patients, n?=?50), benign (n?=?20) and healthy (n?=?20) groups. The studied groups were subjected to cystoscopic examination, detection of bilharzial antibodies, urine cytology, and estimation of urinary angiogenin and clusterin by ELISA. The overall sensitivity and specificity were 66 and 75 % for angiogenin, 70 and 82.5 % for clusterin and 46 and 80 % for voided urine cytology. Combined sensitivity of voided urine cytology with the two studied biomarkers was 88 % which is higher than the combined sensitivity of both markers alone (82 %) and that of the cytology with each marker (76 and 80 %) for angiogenin and clusterin respectively. In conclusion, combined use of the cytology with the studied biomarkers can improve the sensitivity for detecting bladder cancer, and may be very useful in monitoring the effectiveness of antiangiogenic and apoptotic therapies in bladder cancer.     

膀胱肿瘤组织及尿液标本中TWIST1基因的甲基化水平研究

背景与目的：众多遗传学及表观遗传性的改变引发癌基因的激活剂抑癌基因的失活是膀胱肿瘤发生、发展的重要原因,本研究旨在揭示膀胱肿瘤患者肿瘤组织及尿液标本TWIST1基因的甲基化模式。方法：78例经病理确诊的膀胱肿瘤标本、癌旁正常组织及配对75例尿液标本组成实验组,75例年龄及性别比例匹配的非肿瘤个体组成对照组。从肿瘤、癌旁及尿液标本提取DNA,甲基化特异性聚合酶链反应(methylationspecificpolymerase chain reaction,MSP)检测肿瘤组织、癌旁组织及尿液标本中TWIST1基因的甲基化水平,检测结果与尿细胞学检测结果进行对比,比较两种检测方法的灵敏度及特异度。结果：甲基化检测结果显示,88.5%的肿瘤标本及84.0%的尿液标本出现TWIST1基因的甲基化,11.5%的癌旁正常组织及5.3%的对照尿液标本出现甲基化。尿细胞学检测结果显示,49.3%的肿瘤患者尿液标本检测出瘤细胞,17.3%的对照者被诊断为肿瘤或疑似肿瘤。尿液标本甲基化检测灵敏度及特异度显著高于尿细胞学检测方法。针对低级别肿瘤,TWIST1基因甲基化检测灵敏度为66.7%,高于尿细胞学检测(33.3%)。结论：TWIST1基因甲基化水平检测可作为一种简单、非侵入、敏感及特异的方法应用于早期膀胱肿瘤诊断筛查。