Purpose. Early differential diagnosis of bladder cancer.
Application area. Medicine.
Advantages. The advantage of using epigenetic tumor markers is the possibility of both early diagnosis and tumor risk assessment, since epigenetic changes at the DNA level occur already at the early stages of malignant transformation and malignant tumor formation. The non-invasive method of obtaining biological samples greatly facilitates and improves analysis, and also makes it possible to conduct preventive diagnostic tests.
Description. The principle of using epigenetic tumor markers for diagnosing bladder cancer is to determine the level of DNA methylation in a panel of gene-cell suppressors – VIM, TMEFF2, and GDF15. For this, circulating, soluble DNA from the biological fluids of patients (urine, blood serum) is analyzed using methyl-specific PCR.