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Bladder tumor antigen in urine
Last reviewed: 05.07.2025
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Bladder tumor antigen (BTA) is not normally detected in urine.
Bladder cancer is the fourth most common cancer in men and the ninth most common cancer in women. Every fifth patient currently dies of this disease within 5 years. Determination of bladder tumor antigen (BTA) in urine is a screening method for diagnosing bladder cancer, as well as for dynamic observation of patients after surgical treatment. Antigens are detected in 70-80% of patients with bladder cancer at stage T1 - T3 and in 58% with cancer in situ. With effective surgical treatment, BTA in urine disappears, its appearance indicates a relapse of the disease. A study to detect bladder tumor antigen may be false positive in glomerulonephritis, infections and injuries of the urinary tract, due to blood entering the urine. Currently, diagnostic test systems have been developed for the qualitative and quantitative determination of BTA in urine.
In addition to the BTA test, there are a number of non-specific and specific markers of bladder cancer. These include growth factors, immune complexes, tumor-associated proteins, tumor marker B-5, AT M-344, NMP-22, determination of the concentration of PDF in urine, urine telomerase, hemoglobin chemiluminescence in urine, and a number of others.
Sensitivity and specificity of screening methods for bladder cancer
Method |
Sensitivity, % |
Specificity, % |
Cytological examination of urine sediment |
44 |
95 |
BTA stat test |
67 |
79 |
BTA TRAK Test |
72 |
80 |
NMP-22 |
53 |
60 |
52 |
91 |
|
Telomerase |
70 |
99 |
Chemiluminescence of Hb |
67 |
63 |
Hemoglobin |
47 |
84 |