Bladder cancer (BC) is the 10th most common cancer in the world. While there are FDA-approved urinary assays to detect BC, none have demonstrated sufficient sensitivity and specificity to be integrated into clinical practice. Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase (TERT) gene mutations have been identified as the most common BC mutations that could potentially be used as non-invasive urinary biomarkers to detect BC. This study aims to evaluate the validity of these tests to detect BC in the Kerman province of Iran, where BC is the most common cancer in men. Urine samples of 31 patients with primary (n = 11) or recurrent (n = 20) bladder tumor and 50 controls were prospectively collected. Total urinary DNA was screened for the TERT promoter mutations (uTERTpm) by Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR) assays. The performance characteristics of uTERTpm and the influence by disease stage and grade were compared to urine cytology results. The uTERTpm was 100% sensitive and 88% specific to detect primary BC, while it was 50% sensitive and 88% specific in detecting recurrent BC. The overall sensitivity and specificity of uTERTpm to detect bladder cancer were 67.7% and 88.0%, respectively, which were consistent across different tumor stages and grades. The most frequent uTERTpm mutations among BC cases were C228T (18/31), C250T (4/31), and C158A (1/31) with mutant allelic frequency (MAF) ranging from 0.2% to 63.3%. Urine cytology demonstrated a similar sensitivity (67.7%), but lower specificity (62.0%) than uTERTpm in detecting BC. Combined uTERTpm and urine cytology increased the sensitivity to 83.8%, but decreased the specificity to 52.0%. Our study demonstrated promising diagnostic accuracy for the uTERTpm as a non-invasive urinary biomarker to detect, in particular, primary BC in this population.

Purpose: SNRIs (serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors) like duloxetine are known to have role in the treatment of anxiety disorder and stress urinary incontinence. According to the correlation of anxiety disorder and overactive bladder, this study aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy and complications of duloxetine (SNRI) as a medication in the treatment of overactive bladder in the female patients. We were interested to know the probable therapeutic effect and side effects of duloxetine in overactive bladder. Methods and Materials: In this single-blinded interventional randomized clinical trial, 60 female patients with idiopathic overactive bladder (hyperreflexia) referred to the urology clinic, were divided into two groups as pilots. The first group were treated by 10mg/daily solifenacin and the second group received 20mg/daily duloxetine. The patients were evaluated by the ICIQ-OAB Questionnaire before and after one-month follow-up period. The intervention primary outcomes were evaluated by the patient’s presentation of the frequency, nocturia, urgency, urge urinary incontinence and the drugs side effects as secondary outcomes were checked. Results: Sixty women with confirmed overactive bladder disease were evaluated. Solifenacin and duloxetine had the same effect on the treatment of overactive bladder (p value=0.148). The clinical symptoms were obviously relieved in both groups after treatment. Side effects were insignificantly more common in the solifenacin group (p value>0.05). However, the different frequency of blurred vision in the two groups was statistically significant (p value=0.04). The most common complication in solifenacin and duloxetine group was anxiety. Conclusion: The results showed that solifenacin and duloxetine improved overactive bladder symptoms. According to this evaluation, duloxetine can be a suitable alternative option for overactive bladder treatment, due to the acceptable therapeutic effect and side effects.