Today, 1st May, is the first day of bladder cancer awareness month. We are working with organisations across the private and public sectors to help raise awareness of this cancer, its symptoms and the novel, non-invasive test and services we offer that could transform the healthcare journey for thousands of patients.
Bladder cancer in the UK
- In the UK, around 20,500 people are diagnosed with bladder cancer in every year[i], leading to around 5,500 deaths.[ii]
- Early diagnosis of the disease is crucial – more than 80 per cent of people diagnosed at the earliest stage survive at least five years compared to less than 10 per cent diagnosed at the latest stage[iii].
Testing for bladder cancer
Blood in the urine (haematuria) is one of the most common signs of bladder cancer. Patients with this indication are primarily investigated by cystoscopy, which is an uncomfortable and expensive hospital procedure that involves a camera being inserted into the urethra.
However, a novel, non-invasive test offered by Informed Genomics has the potential to spare thousands of patients the discomfort of receiving a cystoscopy, whilst freeing up clinicians’ time and resources to deal with the most urgent patients.
Developed by our sister company Nonacus, in partnership with clinical researchers at the Bladder Cancer Research Centre, University of Birmingham, the GALEAS™ Bladder test requires a simple urine sample from the patient and delivers results equivalent to that of cystoscopy for all stages of bladder cancer. The barcoded urine sample is sent to Informed Genomics UK laboratory where our team of HCPC registered clinical scientists perform the test, analyse the data and generate a report for clinicians.
Find out more about our Bladder Cancer Testing services.
National newspaper The Telegraph recently ran an article on bladder cancer, citing the GALEAS™ Bladder test as “A recent breakthrough in diagnostics could make it easier to detect patients early.”
Read about GALEAS Bladder in The Telegraph
Collaborations in bladder cancer testing
It has been six months since we announced a partnership with Bupa – the first health insurer in the UK to cover GALEAS™ bladder test for customers. Dr Tim Woodman, Medical Director for Cancer Services at Bupa said: “We’re pleased to be partnering with Informed Genomics to be the first UK health insurer to cover the GALEAS Bladder test for our customers. It provides a more efficient solution to diagnosing bladder cancer, where getting that diagnosis a few days or weeks earlier could make a crucial difference.”
There is also recognition across the NHS that the Informed Genomics bladder cancer testing service has the potential to transform bladder cancer care. Here’s what some of the UK’s leading Consultant Urologists have to say…
[i] Catto JWF et al. Diagnosis, treatment and survival from bladder, upper urinary tract, and urethral cancers: real-world findings from NHS England between 2013 and 2019. BJU Int. 2023 Jun;131(6):734-744.
[iii] https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/bladder-cancer/survival
