A DNA-based urine test being rolled out in the NHS correctly flagged 92 percent of bladder cancers in a real-world hospital trial, offering a possible alternative to the camera exam that most patients face today. Almost 1,000 people at seven hospitals in England and Scotland took part.
The results, from the University of Birmingham and the diagnostics company Nonacus, were published in European Urology Oncology in June 2026. When the test came back negative, there was a 99.3 percent chance the patient did not have bladder cancer.
The current standard test is a cystoscopy, in which a doctor threads a thin camera up the urethra and into the bladder. More than 300,000 of these procedures are carried out each year in the UK alone.
How the test reads a urine sample
The Galeas Bladder test looks for genetic material shed by tumor cells into urine. It screens for more than 450 DNA mutations across 23 genes linked to bladder cancer, using targeted deep sequencing.
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In the trial of 964 patients, the assay reached a sensitivity of about 92 percent, with a similar specificity.
Professor Richard Bryan, who leads bladder cancer research at the University of Birmingham, described the results as very promising early performance in a large real-world patient population after years of development.
Why the diagnosis often comes late
Bladder cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the United States, with about 84,530 new cases and 17,870 deaths expected in 2026, according to the American Cancer Society. It is about three times more common in men than in women.
The disease is highly treatable when caught early. The American Cancer Society reports a five-year relative survival rate of 79 percent overall, rising to 98 percent when the tumor is still confined to the inner lining of the bladder.
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The most common early sign is blood in the urine, sometimes enough to tint it pink, orange or dark red. But bleeding is far more often caused by an infection or a kidney stone than a tumor, and many people delay seeking help.
Anyone noticing blood in the urine should see a doctor, and this welltica archive explains the 7 early warning signs of bladder cancer worth knowing.
What it could mean in the clinic
The main promise is triage. If a urine test can safely rule out cancer in most people who show up with blood in their urine, urologists could reserve the camera exam for those most likely to have a tumor.
In the trial, patients received their results within 16 days of referral, well inside the NHS 28-day target, according to Jayne Douglas-Moore, consultant urological surgeon at University Hospitals of Leicester.
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The findings are preliminary and the test is currently in NHS evaluation, not approved for routine use in the United States. Anyone concerned about symptoms should still speak to their own doctor, who will decide whether a cystoscopy or another investigation is needed.
Six NHS hospitals were using Galeas Bladder as of June 2026, with more expected by the end of the year.
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This article is made and published by Jesper Bengtson, who may have used AI in the preparation.