Potential of Proteases in the Diagnosis of Bladder Cancer.

Summary: Bladder cancer is very common, especially in men. Right now, doctors often have to use uncomfortable, invasive biopsies to find it. Scientists want to know if they can just test a patient's pee, blood, or tissue for special proteins called "proteases" instead. This paper looked at many studies to see if these proteins could act as a warning sign for cancer. While the proteins are often higher in cancer patients, the results are too mixed right now to be perfectly reliable. We need better tools and more research before this can be safely used in the doctor's office.