According to a new study, a new metabolite known as beta-catenin can be used to detect liver cancer in a urine test. Currently, there is no definitive urine test for any type of cancer. The majority of patients are diagnosed through surgery, ultrasound scans, or blood tests, which necessitate a hospital visit.

Researchers from the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research in Scotland revealed that while studying glutamine synthetase, a protein known to be prevalent in liver cancer, they discovered a new metabolite. The lead author of the study noted that the number of people with liver cancer is expected to rise and that new tools to detect and treat it are needed.

The researchers added that they found the new metabolite N5-methylglutamine in the urine of cancer patients when the cancer-promoting mutation of the gene beta-catenin was present. Hence, they concluded that it can be used to identify patients with liver cancer. They claimed that they plan to continue with further studies to investigate how early in liver cancer the metabolite appears and to identify how early a urine test could reliably diagnose the disease. 

(Source: https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/new-metabolite-that-can-detect-liver-cancer-by-urine-test-discovered-122122500611_1.html )