Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42827132›Full record

ArticleNature medicine2026

Urine cell-free RNA for bladder cancer detection and treatment response prediction.

Kevin J Liu, William Y Shi, Monica C Nesselbush, Nick A Phillips, Kathleen E Mach, Bogdan Luca, Ravi K Bajpai, Isabel Jabara, Jordan C Cheng, Takeshi Sugio and 32 more

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Nature medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

42 authors.

Kevin J LiuStanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3836-3213
William Y ShiStanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Monica C NesselbushResero Bio, San Carlos, CA, USA.
Nick A PhillipsStanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Kathleen E MachDepartment of Urology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Bogdan LucaDepartment of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Ravi K BajpaiStanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Isabel JabaraStanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Jordan C ChengStanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Takeshi SugioStanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4270-1943
Navika ShuklaStanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Emily C ShenStanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Ivy Lee KohStanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Douglas J WuDepartment of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Chih-Long LiuStanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6577-5427
Diego AlmanzaStanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1222-9366
Soyeong JunStanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8419-7098
Feng TianStanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Emily G HamiltonResero Bio, San Carlos, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7955-6244
Christian R HoernerStanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8685-1126
Rui WangStanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Mohammad S EsfahaniStanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0950-3937
Angela HuiStanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Vinh LaDepartment of Urology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Grace HoltonDepartment of Urology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Gabriela RodriguezDepartment of Urology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Timothy J LeeDepartment of Urology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Xi LingDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Nikitha KalahastiDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4304-2265
Spoorthi VallamkondaDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Patrick MullaneDepartment of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Simon B ChenDepartment of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Eugene ShkolyarDepartment of Urology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Kris PradoDepartment of Urology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3987-7892
Ali Raza KhakiDivision of Hematology, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4655-4426
Emily ChanDepartment of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Mark K BuyyounouskiDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Alice C FanStanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4813-5444
Eila C SkinnerDepartment of Urology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Ash A AlizadehStanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. arasha@stanford.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5153-5625
Joseph C LiaoStanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. jliao@stanford.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2448-5463
Maximilian DiehnStanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. diehn@stanford.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2032-0581

Funding

Molecularly-based outcome and toxicity prediction after radiotherapy for lung cancerR01CA254179 · NCI · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI ALIZADEH, ASH ARASH, DIEHN, MAXIMILIAN · 2020 to 2024
$3.1M
Analysis of urine tumor nucleic acids for detection and personalized surveillance of bladder cancerR01CA244526 · NCI · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI ALIZADEH, ASH ARASH, DIEHN, MAXIMILIAN · 2020 to 2024
$3.0M
Cell-free DNA Analysis for Liquid Biopsy of CancerK00CA264398 · NCI · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI Jordan C Cheng · 2023 to 2026
$389k
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | National Institutes of Health (NIH) K00 CA264398U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 CA244526U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 CA254179U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | National Institutes of Health (NIH) T32 CA930245
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Urine biomarkers promise to improve noninvasive detection and molecular characterization of genitourinary malignancies. Here we describe urine random priming and affinity capture of cell-free RNA (cfRNA) fragments for enrichment analysis by sequencing (uRARE-seq), a liquid biopsy method for urine cfRNA profiling, and apply it to 683 urine samples from patients with cancer and controls. Urine cfRNA contained transcripts from genitourinary tissues and, in patients with prostate, kidney or bladder cancer, tumor-derived transcripts. uRARE-seq demonstrated 95% sensitivity at 90% specificity for detecting localized bladder cancer. The method outperformed urine tumor DNA analysis and was unaffected by the presence of field-effect mutations. Urine cfRNA analysis also sensitively detected minimal residual disease and distinguished complete molecular responses after surgery from those after intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). Pretreatment urine from complete responders to BCG was enriched for T cell and other immune signatures, suggesting a preexisting antitumor immune response, whereas nonresponders showed higher expression of proliferation-related genes. In pretreatment urine from 114 patients, this biological difference enabled development of a biomarker predicting likelihood of response to BCG versus chemotherapy (area under the curve 0.93) that was strongly associated with risk of recurrence. Urine cfRNA analysis is therefore a promising biomarker approach for bladder cancer and potentially other urologic malignancies, although prospective studies are needed to assess its clinical utility.

Identifiers

PMID42827132

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.