Effectiveness of bladder tumor antigen quantitative test in the diagnosis of bladder carcinoma in a schistosoma endemic area

Abstract

Introduction: Bladder carcinoma is the most common male cancer in our environment due to endemicity of schistosomiasis. Squamous-cell carcinoma is the most common histological type and patients present at an advanced stage. The objective of this study is to compare the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of the bladder tumor antigen quantitative test (BTA TRAK) and urine cytology in the diagnosis of bladder carcinoma in a schistosoma endemic area. Materials and Methods: This is a 12-month cross-sectional study of 88 patients, 52 of them with features of bladder carcinoma as study group, and 36 of them with hematuria from other urologic conditions, and benign urologic conditions and healthy volunteers as control group (CG). The mean ages of patients in the study and CGs were 47.17 ± 17.00 and 44.19 ± 18.89 years, respectively ( P = 0.412). Bladder tumor antigen was assayed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 for Windows. Results: The sensitivity of urine cytology and BTA TRAK in the study was 29.1% and 98.8%, respectively. The specificity of urine cytology and BTA TRAK was 95.5% and 13.6%, respectively ( P = 0.05). The positive predictive values of urine cytology and BTA TRAK in the study were 96.2% and 81.7%, respectively. The negative predictive values were 25.0% and 75.0% for urine cytology and BTA TRAK, respectively. Conclusion: BTA TRAK is more sensitive but poorly specific as compared to that of the urine cytology for bladder cell carcinoma detection in a schistosoma endemic area.

Development and Validation of a Novel Recurrence Risk Stratification for Initial Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer in the Han Chinese Population

“…However, there is no new consensus indicator on the risk factors for the recurrence of NMIBC, especially the lack of relevant tumor indicators in urine. Urine BLCA-4, BTA, NMP22, and CEA can be used as important markers for the diagnosis and recurrence monitoring of bladder cancer [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. At present, the specificity and sensitivity of BLCA-4 detection for bladder cancer diagnosis have reached a high level.…”

“…Zhao et al [24] retrospective analysis of 325 patients with bladder cancer confirmed that the 5-year recurrence-free survival rate of patients with low expression of tumor tissue BLCA-4 was 89.8%. BTA, also known as complement factor H-related proteins, can interfere with the complement pathway, allowing tumor cells to evade the immune system and produce tumors [25]. Bladder tumor is in contact with the basement membrane of the bladder.…”

Scoping review: bladder cancer in Nigeria – what are the gaps in clinical care and research?

“…They reported no association between BWT and BTA and lower urinary tract symptoms, and suggested that the role of urogenital schistosomiasis in urinary BTA levels needed to be explored further. Meanwhile, the study by Muhammad et al looked at the role of a quantitative test (BTA TRAK) compared with urine cytology in the diagnosis of BC in the schistosoma endemic area of Sokoto 29. The authors concluded that BTA TRAK is less specific than urine cytology, but is more sensitive for detecting BC in the area of investigation.…”

“…Meanwhile, the study by Muhammad et al looked at the role of a quantitative test (BTA TRAK) compared with urine cytology in the diagnosis of BC in the schistosoma endemic area of Sokoto. 29 The authors concluded that BTA TRAK is less specific than urine cytology, but is more sensitive for detecting BC in the area of investigation. The study by Onile et al differed in that they identified several parasite-specific and host-specific protein biomarkers for the detection of schistosomiasis.…”

“…The authors recommended for all primary school children to be screened and treated for bacteriuria. With respect to the diagnosis of BC and/or schistosomiasis, five studies investigated potential biomarkers and/ or the use of urine cytology [26][27][28][29][30] (tables 1 and 2). The two studies by Oyeyemi et al looked at the association between bladder tumour antigen (BTA) with other factors.…”