The Scientific Programme of the EMUC congress is well-known for its broad coverage of relevant and current updates on genitourinary (GU) malignancies. The upcoming 11th European Multidisciplinary Congress on Urological Cancers (EMUC19) will be no different. One of its notable presenters, Prof. Lars Dyrskjøt, will present his lecture “Novel biomarkers – urinary markers for in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer”.
Core of the lecture
“My lecture will focus on urine biomarkers in NMIBC. Most studies in the field have focused primarily on urine DNA isolated from intact cells in the urine (urine pellets). These inform us about the presence of tumour in the bladder, and may be used for optimised surveillance,” stated Prof. Dyrskjøt. “We have performed studies of cell-free DNA in urine which may originate from the blood stream, and indicate if the disease is already invasive/metastatic. Consequently, this may be used for additional monitoring of disease state, and not just presence of tumour cells.”
Inspiration for the research
The research by Prof. Dyrskjøt and his team was inspired by the liquid biopsy/plasma analysis in the detection of circulating tumour DNA. He explained, “This was mostly focused on the late stage of the disease, for the detection of residual tumour after surgery, and for the detection of metastatic disease. Using biobank materials from patients with long-term follow-up, it was possible to select patients to investigate this mutated DNA in both urine and plasma samples from patients that were initially diagnosed with early stage disease.”
Potential of the findings
If validated in larger cohorts, cell-free analysis of tumour DNA in urine and plasma may be used for monitoring disease aggressiveness in NMIBC, and may complement other standard urine tests for tumour detection.
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Get the rest of the essentials during Prof. Dyrskjøt’s highly-informative lecture on Friday, 15 November during the Plenary Session “Novelties in muscle-invasive bladder cancer”.
Explore the rest of the EMUC19 Scientific Programme for vital information on GU cancers. We look forward to welcoming you in Vienna!
