Patent attributes
The invention provides a method of defining the likelihood of a subject having bladder cancer, comprising the steps of:(A) assessing the subject's likelihood of having bladder cancer by: i. identifying at least one sub-population group appropriate to the subject; ii. determining the level of one or more biomarkers selected according to the sub-population group in a sample obtained from the subject; iii. inputting each of the biomarker values into an algorithm to produce an output value; and iv. correlating the output value with the likelihood of the subject having bladder cancer,wherein the sub-population group is selected according to smoking habits, gender, presence/absence of stone disease, history of benign prostate enlargement (BPE) or prescription of anti-hypertensive, anti-platelet and/or anti-ulcer medication, and(B) determining the subject's stratified risk level of serious disease by: v. determining the level of one or more biomarkers specific for one or more risk classifiers defined using Random Forest Classifiers (RFC), logistic regression or another appropriate systems biology or statistical approach in a sample obtained from the subject, vi. inputting each of the biomarker values into an algorithm or algorithms to produce an output value; and vii. correlating the output value with a stratified risk level of underlying serious disease,wherein the likelihood of having bladder cancer is combined with the stratified risk level of having serious disease, wherein the risk of having bladder cancer and/or serious disease is categorized as: high-risk bladder cancer requiring immediate cystoscopy; low-risk bladder cancer requiring urgent cystoscopy; high-risk control requiring close evaluation and further investigation; or low-risk control requiring primary care monitoring.
