Taking the pain out of Bladder Cancer Workups
The Technology
Abilis Life Sciences is addressing a large unmet need in bladder cancer diagnostics with new biomarker test for bladder cancer representing over 1 million testing opportunities per year. Using a simple urine based testing format, Abilis’ business model utilizes proprietary analytics and algorithms to medical laboratories to easily offer physicians and patients a more comfortable and cost-effective tool to detect bladder cancer.
Bladder cancer is the fourth most common cancer for men in the U.S. with:
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- 80,000 new cases diagnosed each year
- Intensive lifelong surveillance with testing 4x/year following diagnosis
- One of the most expensive cancers to treat
- >50% recurrence rates in the first five years
- $5 billion per year expenditures in the U.S.
Current guidelines call for invasive procedures and imaging tests to accurately diagnose disease. Cytology, a urine test has low accuracy and is not relied on for diagnosis. Cystoscopy, an invasive procedure done in a non-office setting, is expensive, uncomfortable and can result in adverse events extending costs. Experts recognize the potential for low-cost biomarker tests but do not recommend any current tests to give an accurate result. This demonstrates the need our test seeks to address.