Further study of fibrinogen degradation products in bladder cancer detection.

A new, rapid immunoassay kit for assaying fibrinogen degradation products (FDP) was studied in 56 patients with cancer of the bladder and in 48 control patients. The specificity of the kit was demonstrated with a small number of false positive results. In bladder cancer patients with low-stage, small superficial tumors, FDP was positive in 32.2 per cent. The combination of urinary cytologic examination with FDP increased the accuracy of the positive results to 80 per cent. The rapid FDP test supplements the urinary cytology in the follow-up and detection of early bladder cancer.