Noninvasive Urine Test Used to Find Proteins in Bladder Cancer Patients

University of Florida (UF) researchers report that they identified a set of proteins in urine that signal the presence of bladder cancer using a technique that allowed them to sample a smaller quantity of urine than previously possible.

Working with colleagues at the University of Michigan, the scientists searched for glycoproteins in urine samples from 10 individuals, five of whom had bladder cancer. The technique they used allowed them to examine samples up to just 30 mL, they say.

Of the 186 proteins identified in the study, five were present only in the patients with cancer. The findings also added to the urinary proteome database, which until now, only contained 146 proteins.

“Even though our study involved a small number of patients so far, this was really a proof of principle that we can use these new techniques to detect proteins in the urine,” says Steve Goodison, Ph.D., an associate professor of surgery at the UF College of Medicine, Jacksonville. “Nobody could do that at this degree of sensitivity until now.”

The findings were published in the July 6 edition of the Journal of Proteome Research.