Monday, March 24, 2014

What Is New In Bladder Cancer Research

By Luisa Sharpe


Bladder cancer research today is looking at new ways to detect the disease earlier as well as more effective and less invasive ways to treat it once it has been discovered. There are many trials and studies being done that will contribute vital information to what is already known by researchers.

These studies are very effective at finding whether or not the cancers are returning through the discovery of specific proteins in the urine of the patient. It is being tested for initial discovery of tumors. The BTA test has proven accurate but can also be tainted by other conditions and give false positives in patient results.

The NMP22 test looks for a protein found in the nucleus of cells. This test works very well for detecting the most common type of transitional cell cancers. NMP22 occurs in most humans in very minute amounts and elevated levels indicate the patient may have TCC.

The latest test that has been developed is the Mcm5 test. It is used with the NMP22 test and has proven to be successful in finding the TCC in the majority of cases where it was used. This is important because early detection raises the chance of survival for the patient.

The cystoscopy is the method doctors use to confirm a tumorous growth in bladders. This involves insertion of a camera into the affected area where it identifies afflicted areas and the blood vessels that feed the tumors. A chemical is introduced into the bladder using a catheter that serves to enhance the appearance of blood vessels to assist the doctor's identification of the tumors.

Further studies are being made on the treatment of these cancers. One study involves using light reactive drugs to treat the cells. In this study the drug is put into patients bladders and allowed to sit for awhile. Saline solution is added and then they use a special light to activate the drugs. This method is very effective. It kills the cells and damages the blood vessels that feed them. It then triggers your immune system to destroy the tumor completely.

The best treatment results are achieved when therapies are combined to fight the disease. Chemotherapy shrinks the tumors, radiotherapy serves to prevent reappearance of them and surgery removes the offending tissue. Another part of the combination is over oxygenation of the area that is affected because cancerous cells die easier when they have an excess of oxygen.

Biological therapies are the use of naturally produced body substances against the cancerous cells and tumors. Many medications have been created from body substances and they are proving to be quite effective in the fight against cancer. These drugs are being used in many different types of this disease and many new drugs are being produced along these lines of thought. Any new drugs take years to become available to the public but the progress that these studies are making move closer to public use every day.




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