Unlocking the potential of tumor-derived DNA in urine for cancer detection: methodological challenges and opportunities
Wever & Steenbergen
The finding, in our words
This review surveys the use of tumour-derived cell-free DNA in urine for detecting non-urological cancers, covering methodological challenges such as DNA methylation analysis and transrenal transport mechanisms, and argues that urine self-collection could enable convenient home-based cancer screening at a curable stage.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
Adding polyethylene glycol to first-void urine before centrifugation markedly improved cell-free DNA recovery in the pellet, whereas low-speed centrifugation alone removed cellular DNA while keeping cell-free DNA in the supernatant. Pseudovirions pelleted reliably under all conditions, but the study revealed substantial variation between self-collected samples, highlighting the need for standardised protocols in decentralised HPV screening programmes.
Téblick et al., European journal of medical research · source ↗
The review finds that lab-on-chip liquid biopsy technologies are sufficiently mature for distanced cancer screening and follow-up, enabling patient-centric sample collection that reduces exposure risks during pandemics.
Ferrara et al., Biosensors & bioelectronics · source ↗
In first-void urine collected with Colli-Pee, the extraction method influenced HPV and human DNA yield more than the collected volume did: standardising processing matters at least as much as standardising volume.
Vaccine-induced HPV antibodies from cervicovaginal secretions were detectable in first-void urine and correlated with serum levels, so one self-collected urine sample can monitor both HPV infection and immunogenicity without a blood draw; the authors see promise for decentralised follow-up after vaccination.
The study found that testing for ASCL1/LHX8 DNA methylation in at-home collected first-void urine can detect most cervical cancers and high-grade precancers, supporting a fully molecular screening pathway without a clinical visit.
Van Keer et al., Communications medicine · source ↗