Urinary NMP22 in the management of superficial bladder tumours after transurethral resection

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical utility of the NMP22 test after transurethral resection of superficial transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. The test was performed in 28 patients with histologically confirmed bladder tumours and in 41 patients who already had two consecutive negative cytological and cystoscopic results at least 3 months after TUR. In the first group the mean NMP22 value was 62.5 u/ml with a false negative rate of 18%. The specificity of the NMP22 test in 41 patients with a previous history of TCCB was 49%. No difference was detected between patients treated or not with intravesical chemotherapy. Despite its good sensitivity, the NMP22 test cannot be adopted as a routine tool in post-TUR surveillance of patients with superficial bladder cancer, due to its low specificity.