Non-invasive bladder cancer test uses gene

Published: Sept. 24, 2008 at 7:35 PM

HOUSTON, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Counting the copies of a specific gene in cells from a urine sample may provide a simple, non-invasive way to detect bladder cancer, U.S. researchers said.

Researchers at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston said when the telltale gene, Aurora kinase A, is numerous and overexpressed in urothelial cells, errors during cell division follow. The new cells have too few or too many chromosomes, instead of the normal pairs of 23 chromosomes.

"Abnormal chromosome counts are the most fundamental feature -- the signature -- of human cancers," senior author Dr. Bogdan Czerniak said in a statement. "We have further clarified the role that the Aurora kinase A gene -- AURKA -- plays in this misaggregation of chromosomes in bladder cancer."

The study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, said that as a biomarker, Aurora kinase A can detect bladder cancer in voided urine with high degrees of sensitivity and specificity.

© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Order reprints



Additional News Stories
No short-term yuan appreciation seen (27 min)
NHL: Montreal 4, Phoenix 2 (29 min)
Distracted man drives Bugatti into lagoon (39 min)
COL FB: Rutgers 31, South Florida 0 (43 min)
Tagliabue to head a study of USOC (50 min)
NFL: San Francisco 10, Chicago 6 (54 min)
NBA: Cleveland 109, Miami 102
fark
Drew's list of 'seasonal' stories is woefully incomplete without "annual turkey baster search"
Experts wonder if the upswing in retail theft may be connected to the unemployment rate. What the...
MPAA shuts down an entire town's wi-fi because one person illegally downloaded a movie. Take that,...
Verizon has found a way to charge you for accidental keystrokes
Coming to a hipster douche near you: 1890s fashion. 'Cause nothing says "manly" like knee socks,...
Tennessee man found asleep in a ditch with a loaded rifle and a bottle of moonshine