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Purpose: The proto-oncogene forkhead box M1 (FOXM1) is associated with poor survival in many cancers. The impact of FOXM1 expression on progression-free survival (PFS) of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) has not yet been investigated. The differential expression of FOXM1 between the different molecular NMIBC subtypes has further been assessed., Methods: Transcript levels of FOXM1 and MKI67 were determined in 460 NMIBC patients (UROMOL cohort) by RNA-Seq and validated in silico by the Chungbuk and Lund cohort (n = 277). FOXM1 and MKI67 cutoffs were identified by the minimal p value method. Variables were evaluated by multivariable Cox regression analyses in order to identify independent predictors., Results: FOXM1 is an independent predictor for PFS superior to current histological, clinical and molecular staging methods. Patients with high FOXM1 expression have a 6- to 8-fold higher risk of progression in multivariable analysis (p < 0.03). Highest transcript levels were found in the Class 2 and genomically unstable molecular NMIBC subtype (p < 0.03). The proto-oncogene further positively correlated with tumor grade and stage. NMIBCs with high FOXM1 expression showed a PFS advantage when treated with intravesical BCG instillation., Conclusion: FOXM1 is a highly prognostic marker for disease progression of NMIBC superior to current histological, clinical and molecular staging methods and MKI67. It is mainly expressed in the Class 2 and genomically unstable molecular bladder cancer subtypes. Its role in drug resistance development makes FOXM1 valuable biomarker for NMIBC risk stratification.

Purpose: Patients with nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer are followed with frequent cystoscopies. In this study FGFR3, TERT and OTX1 were investigated as a diagnostic urinary marker combination during followup of patients with primary nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer., Materials and Methods: In this international, multicenter, prospective study 977 patients with nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer were included. A total of 2,496 urine samples were collected prior to cystoscopy during regular visits. Sensitivity was estimated to detect concomitant recurrences. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to estimate the development of future recurrences after urinalysis and a negative cystoscopy., Results: Sensitivity of the assay combination for recurrence detection was 57% in patients with primary low grade, nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer. However, sensitivity was 83% for recurrences that were pT1 or muscle invasive bladder cancer. Of the cases 2% progressed to muscle invasive bladder cancer. Sensitivity for recurrence detection in patients with primary high grade disease was 72% and 7% of them had progression to muscle invasive bladder cancer. When no concomitant tumor was found by cystoscopy, positive urine samples were more frequently followed by a recurrence over time compared to a negative urine sample (58% vs 36%, p <0.001). High stage recurrences were identified within 1 year after a positive urine test and a negative cystoscopy., Conclusions: Recurrences in patients with primary nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer can be detected by a combination of urine assays. This study supports the value of urinalysis as an alternative diagnostic tool in patients presenting with low grade tumors and as a means to identify high stage tumors earlier., (Copyright © 2017 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Hotspot mutations in the promoter of the gene coding for telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) have been described and proposed to activate gene expression., Objectives: To investigate TERT mutation frequency, spectrum, association with expression and clinical outcome, and potential for detection of recurrences in urine in patients with urothelial bladder cancer (UBC)., Design, Setting, and Participants: A set of 111 UBCs of different stages was used to assess TERT promoter mutations by Sanger sequencing and TERT messenger RNA (mRNA) expression by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The two most frequent mutations were investigated, using a SNaPshot assay, in an independent set of 184 non-muscle-invasive and 173 muscle-invasive UBC (median follow-up: 53 mo and 21 mo, respectively). Voided urine from patients with suspicion of incident UBC (n=174), or under surveillance after diagnosis of non-muscle-invasive UBC (n=194), was tested using a SNaPshot assay., Outcome Measurements and Statistical Analysis: Association of mutation status with age, sex, tobacco, stage, grade, fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) mutation, progression-free survival, disease-specific survival, and overall survival., Results and Limitations: In the two series, 78 of 111 (70%) and 283 of 357 (79%) tumors harbored TERT mutations, C228T being the most frequent substitution (83% for both series). TERT mutations were not associated with clinical or pathologic parameters, but were more frequent among FGFR3 mutant tumors (p=0.0002). There was no association between TERT mutations and mRNA expression (p=0.3). Mutations were not associated with clinical outcome. In urine, TERT mutations had 90% specificity in subjects with hematuria but no bladder tumor, and 73% in recurrence-free UBC patients. The sensitivity was 62% in incident and 42% in recurrent UBC. A limitation of the study is its retrospective nature., Conclusions: Somatic TERT promoter mutations are an early, highly prevalent genetic event in UBC and are not associated with TERT mRNA levels or disease outcomes. A SNaPshot assay in urine may help to detect UBC recurrences., (Copyright © 2013 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: DNA methylation is associated with bladder cancer and these modifications could serve as useful biomarkers. FGFR3 mutations are present in 60% to 70% of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Low-grade bladder cancer recurs in more than 50% of patients. The aim of this study is to determine the sensitivity and specificity of a urine assay for the diagnosis of recurrences in patients with a previous primary NMIBC G1/G2 by using cystoscopy as the reference standard., Experimental Design: We selected eight CpG islands (CGI) methylated in bladder cancer from our earlier genome-wide study. Sensitivity of the CGIs for recurrences detection was investigated on a test set of 101 preTUR urines. Specificity was determined on 70 urines from healthy males aged more than 50 years. A 3-plex assay for the best combination was developed and validated on an independent set of 95 preTUR, recurrence free, and nonmalignant urines (n=130)., Results: The 3-plex assay identified recurrent bladder cancer in voided urine with a sensitivity of 74% in the validation set. In combination with the FGFR3 mutation assay, a sensitivity of 79% was reached (specificity of 77%). Sensitivity of FGFR3 and cytology was 52% and 57%, respectively., Conclusion: The combination of methylation and FGFR3 assays efficiently detects recurrent bladder cancer without the need for stratification of patients regarding methylation/mutation status of the primary tumor. We conclude that the sensitivity of this combination is in the same range as cystoscopy and paves the way for a subsequent study that investigates a modified surveillance protocol consisting of the urine test followed by cystoscopy only when the urine test is positive., (©2013 AACR.)

Purpose: We determined a combination of markers with optimal sensitivity to detect recurrence in voided urine after resection of an incident low grade, nonmuscle invasive bladder tumor., Materials and Methods: A total of 136 patients with G1/G2 nonmuscle invasive bladder tumor were included in the study at transurethral resection of the incident tumor. At least 3 followup urine samples were required for patient selection. DNA was extracted from the incident tumor and cell pellets of subsequently collected urine samples. We performed FGFR3, PIK3CA and RAS mutation analysis, and microsatellite and methylation analysis on tissue and urine DNA samples., Results: We obtained 716 urine samples. The 136 patients experienced a total of 552 recurrences during a median 3-year followup. Sensitivity for detecting a recurrent tumor varied between 66% and 68% for the molecular tests after patient stratification based on tumor DNA analysis. A combination of markers increased sensitivity but decreased the number of patients eligible for a certain test combination. Combining urine cytology with FGFR3 analysis without stratifying for FGFR3 status of the incident tumor increased sensitivity from 56% to 76%., Conclusions: A combination of markers increased the percentage of patients eligible for urine based followup and the sensitivity of recurrence detection. Adding FGFR3 analysis to urine cytology could be valuable for noninvasive followup of patients with nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer., (Copyright © 2013 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Microsatellite markers are used for loss-of-heterozygosity, allelic imbalance and clonality analyses in cancers. Usually, tumor DNA is compared to corresponding normal DNA. However, normal DNA is not always available and can display aberrant allele ratios due to copy number variations in the genome. Moreover, stutter peaks may complicate the analysis. To use microsatellite markers for diagnosis of recurrent bladder cancer, we aimed to select markers without stutter peaks and a constant ratio between alleles, thereby avoiding the need for a control DNA sample. We investigated 49 microsatellite markers with tri- and tetranucleotide repeats in regions commonly lost in bladder cancer. Based on analysis of 50 blood DNAs the 12 best performing markers were selected with few stutter peaks and a constant ratio between peaks heights. Per marker upper and lower cut off values for allele ratios were determined. LOH of the markers was observed in 59/104 tumor DNAs. We then determined the sensitivity of the marker panel for detection of recurrent bladder cancer by assaying 102 urine samples of these patients. Sensitivity was 63% when patients were stratified for LOH in their primary tumors. We demonstrate that up-front selection of microsatellite markers obliterates the need for a corresponding blood sample. For diagnosis of bladder cancer recurrences in urine this significantly reduces costs. Moreover, this approach facilitates retrospective analysis of archival tumor samples for allelic imbalance.

Bladder cancer is the fifth most common neoplasm in industrialized countries. Due to frequent recurrences of the superficial form of this disease, bladder cancer ranks as one of the most common cancers. Despite the description of a large number of tumor markers for bladder cancers, none have individually contributed to the management of the disease. However, the development of high-throughput techniques for simultaneous assessment of a large number of markers has allowed classification of tumors into clinically relevant molecular subgroups beyond those possible by pathological classification. Here, we review the recent advances in high-throughput molecular marker identification for superficial and invasive bladder cancers.