The Role of Nuclear Matrix Protein 22 Combined with Bladder Tumor Antigen Stat Test in Surveillance of Recurring Bladder Cancer

Objective: To investigate a non-invasive, effective and rapid mode of detecting the recurrence of bladder cancer during follow-up.

Methods: Ninety patients following transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBt) surgery were recruited from January 1998 to March 2000. Standard ELISA was used to determine the quantity of nuclear matrix protein (NMP-22) in urine of all bladder cancer patients during their follow-up periods. Urine bladder tumor antigen (BTA) stat test was simultaneously performed and followed by cystoscopy.

Results: The total positive rates of urinary NMP-22 and BTA stat test were 76.7% (33/43) and 67.4% (29/43), respectively. Comparatively, this positive rate would increase to 93.0% (40/43) when the combination of both urine NMP-22 and BTA test were adopted.

Conclusion: Examination of NMP-22 in urine is a rapid and effective way to detect the recurrence of bladder cancer. If combined with BTA test, NMP-22 may be used as a non-invasive method in surveillance of recurring of bladder cancer, which may reduce the frequency of patients needing to undergo conventional invasive cystoscopy.