Urine test ‘could help spot recurring kidney cancer’, researchers suggest

A simple urine test could accurately detect recurring kidney cancer in patients recovering from surgery for the disease, potentially sparing them from frequent follow-up scans, researchers suggest.

The AUR87A study, led by Swedish researchers, included 134 patients who were treated at 23 hospitals in the UK, Europe, US and Canada.

All had been diagnosed with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) – the most common type of kidney cancer – which had not spread beyond the kidney and was treated with surgery.

Most patients had their kidney completely removed.

This type of cancer returns in about a fifth of people, usually within one to two years.

Patients are monitored with CT scans, with their frequency based on the level of individual risk.

For the study, the group continued to have CT scans as part of their standard monitoring after the operation, alongside a urine test every three months.

These tests analysed the profiles of certain sugar molecules in the urine, known as glycosaminoglycans, and gave patients a score out of 100, known as the GAGome score.

After 18 months, cancer had returned in 15% of the group.

The study found the urine test correctly detected recurrence in 90% of these patients.

It also correctly ruled out recurring cancer in a little over half the patients who remained cancer-free.

Saeed Dabestani, associate professor at Lund University and consultant urologist at Kristianstad Central Hospital in Sweden, said: “CT scans often pick up small lesions that aren’t large enough to biopsy, and we currently don’t know whether they are a sign of the cancer returning or not.

“Our only option is to do more frequent scans to monitor more closely, which is unpleasant for patients and often brings little benefit.

“If you have a urine test that can accurately show whether the cancer has actually returned then you can better assess risk levels and reduce the frequency of the scans required.

“Based on the results we have so far, it’s likely that we could safely halve the number of scans that patients have to undergo.”

The findings are being presented at the at the European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress in Madrid and have been accepted for publication in the journal European Urology Oncology.

Researchers are currently recruiting a second group of patients for the AUR87A study, which results expected towards the end of the year.