Detecting bladder cancer currently requires highly invasive diagnostic and monitoring procedures. When a person has blood in their urine—a common symptom, but one often linked to other benign causes such as an infection or kidney stones—the gold standard remains cystoscopy, which involves inserting a camera into the bladder through the urethra. This exam is costly and uncomfortable, in addition to requiring significant medical resources. Furthermore, patients treated for bladder cancer must undergo this follow-up every three to six months for several years to detect a possible recurrence. For Professor François-Michel Boisvert of the Cancer Research Institute at the University of Sherbrooke, it became essential to develop a simpler and more accessible approach to improve the experience of those affected.
His team therefore set out to identify urinary biomarkers capable of detecting the presence of this cancer using a simple urine sample. Following an initial phase involving approximately 100 patients, the research team identified a combination of proteins associated with the disease and then validated these results in a second independent cohort. The project then took on an international scope through a multicenter study involving 1,200 patients in Canada, Germany, France, and Bangladesh, in collaboration with the World Health Organization. The goal is to ensure that the test works in genetically and clinically diverse populations, while comparing it to other existing diagnostic tools. The results obtained so far are very promising: the non-invasive test could outperform cystoscopy, which detects only about 75% of cancers.
The research is now focused on developing a reliable and rapid test similar to the antigen tests that became widespread during the COVID-19 pandemic. In partnership with the Montreal-based startup Rynd Biotech, Professor Boisvert’s team is developing a prototype capable of providing results from just a few drops of urine. If clinical trials confirm the effectiveness of this innovation, it could significantly reduce the need for costly and invasive tests, speed up diagnoses, and permanently transform bladder cancer monitoring worldwide.
References
Project profile as part of the European ERAPerMed Network program—personalized medicine
Martel, A., Raue, L., Hodonou Avogbe, P., Raisch, J., Jeldres, C., Ecke, T., Vian, E., Hosen, M. I., Rabien, A., Le Calvez-Kelm, F., Boisvert, F.-M. et al. (2025). Urinary biomarkers in multicenter studies: Shaping the future of bladder cancer diagnosis and follow-up. BJUI Compass. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/bco2.70124
Bouchard, S., Lévesque, D., Raisch, J., Bisaillon, M., Jeldres, C., and Boisvert, F.-M. (2025). Identification of a highly sensitive combination of urinary protein biomarkers for the detection of high-grade bladder cancer. JU Open Plus, 3(12), e00148. https://doi.org/10.1097/JU9.0000000000000389