Use of the NMP22 BladderChek test in the diagnosis and follow-up of urothelial cancer: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the efficacy of the nuclear matrix protein (NMP) 22 BladderChek test (NMP22BC) in the detection and follow-up of urothelial carcinoma. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 1021 patients who underwent the NMP22BC, cytology, and cystoscopy, were studied. We divided the patients into 2 groups: group I consisted of 597 patients who were being followed up for previous urothelial carcinoma, and group II consisted of 424 patients with hematuria. The sensitivity and specificity of the NMP22BC, cytology, and the combination (NMP22BC + cytology) were compared. RESULTS: Of the 1021 patients, 131 were diagnosed with urothelial cancer. The overall sensitivities for the NMP22BC, cytology, and the combination were 32.1%, 38.2%, and 52.7%, respectively. In group I, the sensitivity of the NMP22BC was lower than the sensitivity of cytology (22.58% vs 35.5%); there was no difference between the sensitivity of the NMP22BC and that of cytology in group II (40.58% vs 40.58%). For the combination, the sensitivity was greater than that of either test alone in both groups (46.77% and 57.97% in groups I and II, respectively). The sensitivity of the NMP22BC was greater than that of cytology (22.6% vs 13.2%) for low-grade bladder cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The NMP22BC has lower sensitivity than cytology. However, the sensitivity of NMP22BC in low-grade tumors was higher than that of cytology. Therefore, when the NMP22BC is combined with cytology, the sensitivity for detecting urothelial carcinoma is increased, which implies that this combination may be useful in the screening and follow-up of urothelial carcinoma.