New Imaging Agent Designed to Improve Detection of Bladder Cancer

The imaging agent is used to detect bladder cancer in individuals suspected or known to have lesion(s) in the bladder, based on a prior cystoscopy. It is used with a white light setting to illuminate the bladder during a routine cystoscopy, and a blue light setting to induce and view fluorescence, thereby enabling physicians to detect lesions in the bladder.

More than 70,000 people in the United States were diagnosed with cancer of the bladder in 2009, and an estimated 14,000 people in the United States died from the disease in 2010, according to the US National Cancer Institute (Bethesda, MD, USA). Bladder cancer is the fourth most common type of cancer in men, and the eighth most common in women. Smoking is the most likely cause of bladder cancer. The most common initial sign of the disease is red-colored urine, which calls for urine cytology (tests performed on cells in urine to detect disease) and cystoscopy.

“Bladder cancer is difficult to detect. A missed diagnosis can result in delayed or incomplete treatment, which may lead to serious complications and a lower chance of survival for patients with potentially aggressive tumors,” said Leonard Gomella, MD, FACS, a professor of prostate cancer, associate director for Clinical Affairs at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson University, and chair of the department of urology at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (Philadelphia, PA, USA). “Cysview represents an important advance in diagnostic technology, enabling more accurate diagnosis of bladder tumors compared to the standard technique. Patients with known or suspected bladder cancer can now come to Jefferson to undergo diagnostic procedures administered by physicians who have been specially trained in the use of this innovative technology.”

The conventional diagnostic procedure for bladder cancer combines urine cytology and white light cystoscopy. Although cytology provides specificity and sensitivity in detecting high-grade (highly abnormal) lesions, it provides no data on the location and extent of the disease. If the cells test positive for cancer, the next step is direct visual inspection of the urothelium and mucosa with white light cystoscopy to localize the tumors. Physicians perform transurethral resection (TUR), a form of cystoscopy-guided biopsy, of suspicious areas of the bladder, and then test the tissue samples to determine if they are malignant.

“We are dedicated to finding new ways to improve the lives of patients living with serious diseases such as cancer, and Cysview is the latest example,” said Dr. Gomella. “By facilitating early diagnosis of bladder cancer, this innovative imaging agent can enable appropriate, timely treatment that may improve patients’ chances of survival.”

Cysview is licensed by GE Healthcare (Chalfont St. Giles, UK) from Photocure, ASA (Oslo, Norway).

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