Significance of the BTA Test in Bladder Cancer: A Multicenter Trial

Background: The BTA test is a latex agglutination assay for the qualitative detection in the urine of analytes that are associated with bladder tumor. We compared the results of the BTA test with those of voided urine cytology (VUC) in patients with bladder cancer. Methods: A multicenter trial was performed at 6 institutions. A total of 132 patients with histologically diagnosed bladder cancer were enrolled. Urine samples were split for BTA and VUC testing. Results: The sensitivities of the BTA test and VUC were 57.6% and 37.9%, respectively; this difference was significant (P< 0.001). The BTA test had much higher sensitivity for small, solitary, superficial tumors than did VUC. Conclusion: The BTA test is simple to perform, gives rapid results, and is far more sensitive than VUC for detection of bladder cancer. The BTA test has the potential to become an additional tool for detecting bladder cancer.