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sector_ico_Health_trans Human Health

Discovery and validation of urinary metabolic biomarker for early–stage bladder cancer diagnosis

GEN037
  • Project Leaders: Tao Huan, Gang Wang
  • Institutions: University of British Columbia (UBC)
  • Budget: $608250
  • Program/Competition: GeneSolve
  • Genome Centre(s): Genome British Columbia
  • Fiscal Year: 2024
  • Status: Active

Bladder cancer is one of the most common cancers in Canada and is a significant global health concern that demands early detection for effective treatment. Conventional urine cytology, commonly applied to check for cancer cells in the urine, has critical limitations of subjectivity, long turnaround time, and is expensive.

This collaborative project between the research laboratory of Dr. Tao Huan at the University of British Columbia and Dr. Gang Wang at the BC Cancer Pathology Department will employ mass spectrometry technology to analyze the detected metabolites in the urine samples.  In comparing metabolites of bladder cancer patients and normal health cohorts, the team will aim to identify a set of metabolic signatures that can serve as biomarkers. These identified metabolic biomarkers will also be combined with the known risk factors for bladder cancer, such as smoking, age, sex, exposure to certain chemicals, and family history of cancer, to construct a machine‐learning model to make accurate predictions of bladder cancer.  The identification of biomarkers and the development of a novel urine test for bladder cancer has the potential to revolutionize diagnosis, leading to timely interventions, improving patient outcomes, and reducing healthcare costs.