Based on the analysis of archival tissue from 226 patients who underwent surgery for bladder cancer, scientists were able to identify four protein biomarkers that could predict the recurrence of bladder cancer. The findings, which researchers say could one day alter the postoperative treatment offered to patients who test positive for the mutated biomarkers, are available online in an upcoming issue of The Lancet Oncology.

The proteins Bcl-2, caspase-3, P53 and survivin --proteins known to regulate apoptosis -- were associated with the rate of mortality from cancer after surgery.

Patients who showed no mutations in the four biomarkers had a 90 percent chance of survival at five years compared to less than 20 percent if they had four mutated markers.

Although the authors say that the data are still preliminary and would need to be scientifically validated, the findings suggest that mutations on all four markers could indicate the need for adjuvant chemotherapy to increase survival rates among such patients.