A simple urine test caught 71 of 77 bladder cancers

A new urine test detected 71 of 77 bladder cancers in a UK study, including every muscle-invasive case, published this year in European Urology Oncology. Researchers examined samples from 964 patients referred for urgent screening between 2024 and 2025. The test, called GALEAS Bladder and developed by Nonacus Clinical Services, screens for genetic traces of 23 genes linked to the disease. Its accuracy when finding nothing was greater than 99%, which matters because the current standard, a cystoscopy, is invasive and slow. Bladder cancer is among the ten most common malignancies, with roughly 550,000 cases diagnosed worldwide each year. A urine sample asks almost nothing of the patient, and the enrolment numbers reflect that. "The most important message for the patient is that they don't have to do anything to be part of this," said Andy Goffe, a Lead Urology Nurse Consultant at Dorset County Hospital Foundation Trust. So far, every patient asked has agreed to take part.