Although cystoscopy is a reliable tool for detecting bladder cancer (BC) in patients with hematuria, it is invasive, costly and often unnecessary since most patients with hematuria do not have BC. Consequently, developing urinary biomarkers for non-invasive BC detection is a major clinical need. While DNA methylation markers hold promise, diagnostic performance can still be improved.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: High ovarian cancer mortality rates motivate the development of effective and patient-friendly diagnostics. Here, we explored the potential of molecular testing in patient-friendly samples for ovarian cancer detection.
Methods: Home-collected urine, cervicovaginal self-samples, and clinician-taken cervical scrapes were prospectively collected from 54 patients diagnosed with a highly suspicious ovarian mass (benign n = 25, malignant n = 29).
High cancer mortality rates and the rising cancer burden worldwide drive the development of innovative methods in order to advance cancer diagnostics. Urine contains a viable source of tumor material and allows for self-collection from home. Biomarker testing in this liquid biopsy represents a novel approach that is convenient for patients and can be effective in detecting cancer at a curable stage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEndometrial cancer incidence is rising and current diagnostics often require invasive biopsy procedures. DNA methylation marker analysis of minimally- and non-invasive sample types could provide an easy-to-apply and patient-friendly alternative to determine cancer risk. Here, we compared the performance of DNA methylation markers to detect endometrial cancer in urine, cervicovaginal self-samples and clinician-taken cervical scrapes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHigh levels of methylated DNA in urine represent an emerging biomarker for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) detection and are the subject of ongoing research. This study aimed to investigate the circadian variation of urinary cell-free DNA (cfDNA) abundance and methylation levels of cancer-associated genes in NSCLC patients. In this prospective study of 23 metastatic NSCLC patients with active disease, patients were asked to collect six urine samples during the morning, afternoon, and evening of two subsequent days.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The incidence of endometrial cancer is rising, and current diagnostics often require invasive biopsy procedures. Urine may offer an alternative sample type, which is easily accessible and allows repetitive self-sampling at home. Here, we set out to investigate the feasibility of endometrial cancer detection in urine using DNA methylation analysis.
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