Telomerase activity in urine sediments as a tool for noninvasive detection of bladder cancer

Telomerase is extensively investigated as potential diagnostic and prognostic marker in human tumors. In this study, we determined telomerase activity in histological specimens and voided urine of 52 human bladder cancers. Using the PCR-ELISA method telomerase activity was found in 21 (88%) of the 24 tumor tissues and in the corresponding sediments from voided urine of patients with superficial bladder carcinoma (Ta/T1). In case of muscle-invasive tumors (T2–T4), telomerase activity was found in 27 (96%) of the 28 tumor tissues and in 26 (93%) of the 28 urine sediments. Enzyme activity was not detected in 13 control urine sediments. Telomerase activity was not significantly associated with clinicopathological parameters supporting the diagnostic rather than prognostic value of this marker in bladder cancer. The present study demonstrates that telomerase activity detection in voided urine has high potential for noninvasive diagnosis of superficial bladder tumors.