Researchers Find Chemical in Urine to Aid in Bladder Cancer Screening

A chemical found in urine can be used to screen for and predict the severity of bladder cancer, British scientists report today in the Journal of Urology. Researchers from the Imperial Cancer Research Fund found that bladder cancer patients have high levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which stimulates the growth of blood vessels that are essential for cancerous tumors. The researchers also found that the higher the VEGF level, the less likely the tumor was to respond to therapy.

They believe that measuring VEGF levels could be a simple, quick and safe screening test for the disease that affects 55,000 Americans each year.

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Compiled by Times medical writer Thomas H. Maugh II