Jacksonville, Fla. -- U.S. medical scientists have moved closer to developing a test for urinary bladder cancer and for monitoring patients after treatment.

Steve Goodison at the University of Florida-Jacksonville, along with colleagues at the University of Michigan, note urinary bladder cancer is among the five most common malignancies worldwide. Early detection and treatment dramatically increases patient survival rates.

However, the scientists said the existing urinalysis test has serious drawbacks. Consequently, the development of non-invasive urinalysis assays using reliable diagnostic markers would be of tremendous benefit.

The researchers have moved toward that goal by identifying potential biomarkers for bladder cancer, including a protein present in the urine of patients with bladder cancer, but not other individuals. It is the same protein linked with liver and ovarian cancer in previous studies.

Although the protein appears promising as a biomarker, the researchers cite the need for further studies in large groups of bladder cancer patients to determine the biomarker's usefulness.

The research is to be reported in the July 6 issue of the Journal of Proteome Research.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.