Non-invasive follow-up of urinary tract cancers

Bladder cancer is the most common malignancy of the urinary tract with 573,000 new cases and 213,000 deaths in 2020 worldwide and affecting more men than women in a 4:1 ratio. Bladder cancer has the highest lifetime treatment costs per patient of all cancers, which is mainly attributed to the intensive follow-up procedures of patients after diagnostics and surgery. Follow-up is made recurring to extremely invasive and low-patient compliant tests. ENSURE aims to validate the technological and business feasibility of the electronic nose technology developed in the ERC Starting Grant SCENT by establishing the proof-of-concept for the non-invasive follow-up of bladder cancer patients. To accomplish this, we will approach the project from both Technical and Business perspectives, with a perfect synergy between the research and business teams, and a close contact with clinical collaborators and stakeholders.