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RecruitingNCT02379429Updated Aug 28, 2026

Care of the Urothelial Cancer Patient and Prospective Procurement of Urothelial Cancer Tissue

An observational study in Bladder Cancer, Urinary Tract Cancer and Urothelial Cancer, sponsored by National Cancer Institute (NCI). Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 120 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-28.

Sponsored by National Cancer Institute (NCI) · Observational

Study type
Observational
Model
Case-control
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
500
Ages
18 Years to 120 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Background:

Urothelial cancer is cancer of the bladder, ureter, and urethra. Researchers want to better understand what changes in a person s cells and genes cause this cancer to form. This may help them find new ways to treat it.

Objective:

- To perform DNA sequencing to help researchers learn the differences between normal tissue and tumor tissue. Also, to learn how molecular changes - including gene changes - might help predict the course of disease and how people respond to therapy.

Eligibility:

- Adults age 18 and older who have or are suspected of having urothelial cancer or an inherited disorder that raises their risk of getting bladder cancer.

Design:

  • Participants will be screened with a physical exam. Their medical records and tissue samples will be reviewed.
  • Eligible participants will give tissue blocks of their original tumor. The blocks will be put in a tissue bank.
  • Participants medical records may be reviewed.
  • Participants may have a medical history and physical exam.
  • Participants may have blood and urine tests. They may have imaging scans. They may give urine, blood, and saliva samples. These samples may be used in future research.
  • If participants need surgery for their cancer, researchers will keep some of the tissue (both tumor and normal tissue). The tissue may be used in future research.
  • Participants will go back to the Clinical Center in 6 months. They may give saliva, urine, and blood samples. After 6 months, they will be seen by their local doctor for standard post-surgical visits.
  • Participants will be called every 6 months to give health updates.
Read the detailed description

Background:

  • Urothelial carcinoma, present as lower or upper urinary tract disease, is the most expensive malignancy to treat from diagnosis to death, and no major advances in drug therapy have taken place in the last two decades.
  • Understanding the molecular mechanisms and genomic alterations that cause urothelial carcinoma will provide the foundation for the development of novel targeted therapeutic agents for this disease. Since 1982 investigators in the Urologic Oncology Branch have been studying the genetic basis of urologic cancers. The identification of the genes for cancer of the kidney has led to the approval by the FDA of a number of new agents for patients with advanced disease. Similarly, it is our goal to study the cancer biology (genomic, molecular, and cellular biology) of urothelial carcinoma in order to develop novel treatment strategies.
  • Collection of patient tumor samples allows us to study molecular and biologic pathways and develop novel targeted therapies. Correlation of these samples with clinical outcomes in patients allows us to predict and understand clinical outcomes and possibly develop predictive and/or prognostic biomarkers.
  • Collection of blood, urine and saliva from healthy volunteers will allow us to distinguish normal and inflammatory conditions from malignant diseases. Furthermore, the specimens will provide appropriate controls for comparison.

Objective (Primary):

  • Collect blood, urine, and benign and malignant tissue from patients with known or suspected urothelial cancer for the purpose of elucidating the molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis in urothelial cancer and ultimately, identifying novel therapeutic targets.
  • Collect blood, urine and saliva from healthy volunteers for the purpose of establishing controls for comparison with urothelial cancer specimens.

Eligibility:

  • Adults with biopsy-proven or suspected urothelial cancer who require diagnostic or therapeutic intervention as part of their diagnosis, standard of care treatment, or followup/surveillance for their neoplasm.
  • Healthy volunteers from whom blood, saliva and urine samples are easily obtainable.

Design:

  • Care of the patient with urothelial carcinoma will be provided as per medically indicated standards and in the process, normal and malignant urothelial cancer tissues may be obtained at the time of clinically indicated diagnostic and/or therapeutic intervention.
  • Blood, urine, and saliva samples for research may be obtained from patients and healthy volunteers at baseline. Additionally, blood and urine may be collected from patients at follow-up intervals.
  • No investigational or experimental therapy will be given as part of this protocol.
02

Conditions studied

  • Bladder Cancer
  • Urinary Tract Cancer
  • Urothelial Cancer
  • Healthy Volunteers

Keywords

  • Specimen Collection
  • Urine
  • Blood
  • Saliva
  • Natural History
03

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 120 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

Two different groups of population: 1. Adults age 18 and older who have or are suspected of having urothelial cancer or an inherited disorder that raises their risk of getting bladder cancer 2. Healthy volunteers (18 and older),the specimens will provide appropriate controls for comparison.

Eligibility criteria

  • INCLUSION CRITERIA FOR UROTHELIAL CANCER PARTICIPANTS:
  • Adults (>= 18 years of age) with biopsy-proven or suspected urothelial cancer who require and are willing to undergo diagnostic or therapeutic intervention as part of their diagnosis, standard of care treatment, or follow-up/surveillance for their neoplasm.
  • ECOG performance status of 0-3.
  • Must be willing and able to provide informed consent.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

  • Subjects who are pregnant.

  • Subjects co-morbidities preclude diagnostic or therapeutic intervention. Co-morbidities include:

    --Ongoing treatment for another non-skin malignancy.

  • History of hepatitis B/C or HIV. Patients who are HIV positive are excluded from this study because treatment with immunomodulatory agents for immunosuppressed patients would affect sample analysis and skew the data.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS

INCLUSION CRITERIA:

-Adults (greater than or equal to 18 years of age) and able to give informed consent.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

  • Subjects who are pregnant.
  • Diagnosis of cancer requiring treatment other than minor resection of basal cell or squamous cell skin cancers.
  • Heart, lung, kidney disease, or other medical conditions as per Principal Investigator discretion.
  • History of acute or chronic hepatitis B/C or HIV infection. Patients who are HIV positive are excluded from this study because treatment with immunomodulatory agents for immunosuppressed patients would affect sample analysis and skew the data.
  • Healthy volunteers who are family members with germline mutations.
04

Study design

Observational model
Case-control
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
500 participants (estimated)

Groups and cohorts

  • 1/Participants

    Adults with biopsy-proven or suspected urothelial cancer who require diagnostic or therapeutic intervention

  • 2/Healthy Volunteers

    Healthy volunteers from whom blood, saliva and urine samples are easily obtainable.

05

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Collect samples for the purpose of studying the molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis in urothelial cancer.

    Collection of blood, urine, saliva, and/or benign and malignant tissue

    Time frame: ongoing

Secondary outcomes

  1. Perform molecular profiling and analysis to better characterize urothelial cancer and identify novel targets.

    Collection of blood, urine, saliva, and/or benign and malignant tissue

    Time frame: ongoing

  2. Develop stable urothelial / bladder cancer cell lines from procured tissue when feasible.

    Generating cell lines

    Time frame: ongoing

  3. Collect detailed history, pathologic data, perioperative findings, and treatment data to better characterize the natural and clinical histories of urothelial cancer when feasible.

    Collection of clinical histories of urothelial cancer

    Time frame: ongoing

06

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
    Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
    • NIH Clinical Center Office of Patient Recruitment (OPR) · Contact · ccopr@nih.gov · 800-411-1222
    Recruiting
07

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Yes — All IPD recorded in the medical record will be shared with intramural investigators upon request. In addition, all large-scale genomic sequencing data will be shared with subscribers to dbGaP.

Supporting information: Study protocol, Sap, Icf

08

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT02379429
Lead sponsor
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Mar 5, 2015
Start date
Nov 10, 2015
Primary completion
Jan 1, 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Jan 1, 2028 (estimated)
Last update
Aug 28, 2026

Study contacts

Lidenys C O'Brien Gutierrez
Contact
lidenys.o'brien@nih.gov
(240) 858-7481
Raju R Chelluri, M.D.
Contact
raju.chelluri@nih.gov
(240) 858-3700
Raju R Chelluri, M.D.
principal investigator · National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Oversight

FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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