Screening for bladder cancer
There is no national screening programme for bladder cancer in the UK. This is because there isn't a screening test that reliably picks up bladder cancer at an early stage.
What is cancer screening?
Screening means testing people for early stages of a disease. This is before they have any symptoms. For screening to be useful the tests:
- need to be reliable at picking up cancers
- overall must do more good than harm to people taking part
- must be something that people are willing to do
Screening tests are not perfect and have some risks. The screening programme should also be good value for money for the NHS.
Research into tests
At the moment there is no reliable screening test for bladder cancer. Doctors have been looking at urine tests to diagnose bladder cancer. A urine sample is less invasive, simpler and quicker than other bladder cancer tests.
Testing urine for blood
Testing for blood in the urine is not a useful screening test for the general population. This is because small amounts of blood in urine can be due to other medical conditions. For example a urine infection or kidney problems.
Doctors looked at testing for blood in the urine as a test for people at a higher risk of bladder cancer. The test involves dipping a testing stick into a fresh sample of your urine. The National Screening Committee looked at the results of many studies. They think that testing the urine for blood is not a useful test for this group of people at the moment.
Other urine tests
Researchers have looked at some newer types of urine tests in clinical trials. These look for certain substances in urine which might be a sign of bladder cancer. For example, the NMP22 test, UroVysion test and MCM5 test.
At the moment, none of these tests are used to routinely screen for bladder cancer.
People at higher risk of getting bladder cancer
Talk to your doctor if you think you are at a high risk of developing bladder cancer. You may be able to have regular check ups.
