Urinary Tumor DNA-Based Diagnosis and Surveillance for Nonmuscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer—Current Landscape and Future Directions
Abstract
Bladder cancer has a significant impact on patients, in terms of both morbidity and financial burden. This is especially
true for patients with nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer, who undergo long-term surveillance via cystoscopy and
imaging, resulting in significant costs and risks. To address this issue, urinary tumor DNA analysis, or “urinary
liquid biopsy,” has emerged as a potential solution to reduce the testing burden and mitigate many of the costs and
risks. Over time, urinary tumor DNA analysis has undergone several refinements. However, existing FDA-approved
urinary biomarker assays currently lack the sensitivity and specificity to significantly impact clinical decisionmaking.
Subsequent iterations of these technologies have attempted to bridge this gap by improving their diagnostic
accuracy, and ultimately, clinical utility. Here, we discuss the current role as well as future directions of urinary tumor
DNA analysis for the detection and long-term surveillance of nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer.
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