Although numerous markers for bladder tumor (BT) have been investigated, a more effective, less expensive test is needed. To address this issue, we examined the urinary extracellular matrix (U-ECM) measurement in urine from patients with BT, and investigated the U-ECM measurement and its correlation with tumor grade and invasion. We also investigated the U-ECM measurement to ascertain the condition of the bladder wall injured by transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TUR-bt). Fresh urine samples were obtained from 170 patients with BT, 38 patients with chronic cystitis (CC) and 50 with normal bladder (NB). U-ECM measurements were higher in BT groups than in CC and in NB groups. There was no significant difference in the U-ECM measurement between grades. However, in another comparison between stages, U-ECM measurements were higher in advanced cancer than in early stage cancer. After surgery, U-ECM concentration increased on day 1 and levels of U-ECM that were higher prior to TUR-bt continued to increase until day 6. U-ECM continued to decrease after day 6 and reached normal range on day 14. Our results demonstrated that measurement of U-ECM is a highly efficient, reliable and cost effective marker for screening and monitoring bladder tumors and is also a beneficial diagnostic tool. Evaluation of the results is relatively simple and accurate and the running cost of measuring U-ECM is significantly lower than other tests.

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