Urinary tract cancers found by homescreening with hematuria dipsticks in healthy men over 50 years of age.

In a homescreening study 235 asymptomatic men, 50 years of age and older without known causes of hematuria, tested their urine each week with a chemical reagent strip for the presence of blood for 1 year. Forty-four men had hematuria at least once, and 31 had a full urologic evaluation. Of these, eight were found to have urinary cancers and seven had nonmalignant diseases warranting immediate treatment. In six of these 15 men (only two with cancer) hematuria occurred in over 1/3 of the testings, and in four hematuria was found on microscopic urinalysis at the time of urologic evaluation. The degree of hematuria was unrelated to the seriousness of its cause. We conclude that in this population hematuria occurs intermittently and when found, regardless of quantity or symptoms, serious underlying pathology must be ruled out. Furthermore, regular hematuria home testing offers a promising means of detecting urinary cancers and other diseases that warrant therapy in asymptomatic men 50 years of age and older.

The significance of asymptomatic microhematuria in men 50 or more years old: findings of a home screening study using urinary dipsticks.

In an ongoing home screening study 231 men 50 or more years old without known causes of hematuria have tested their urine each week with a chemical reagent strip for the presence of blood. After 3 months of testing 23 patients have had hematuria at least once. Of these men 5 have had urinary cancers and 5 have had other serious underlying diseases requiring immediate treatment. In only 3 of these 10 men (only 1 with cancer) did hematuria occur in more than a third of the testings or on subsequent microscopic urinalysis. The degree of hematuria was unrelated to the seriousness of its cause. We conclude that in this population hematuria occurs so intermittently that when found on routine urinalysis, regardless of quantity, serious underlying pathological conditions must be ruled out aggressively. Furthermore, regular hematuria home testing appears to offer promise as an economical means to detect urinary cancers and other serious diseases in asymptomatic men 50 or more years old.