Neo-Urinary Conduit

The Neo-Urinary Conduit (NUC) is an autologous, tissue-engineered product developed by Tengion for urinary diversion in patients requiring radical cystectomy, primarily due to bladder cancer. The NUC is constructed by harvesting a small biopsy of the patient's own bladder or kidney tissue to isolate urothelial and smooth muscle cells. These cells are expanded in a laboratory setting and then seeded onto a tube-shaped, bioresorbable synthetic scaffold. Once implanted, the scaffold provides a temporary structure for the cells to organize and regenerate a functional conduit, which eventually replaces the scaffold as it degrades. This approach aims to provide a safer alternative to the standard-of-care ileal conduit, which uses a segment of the patient's bowel and is associated with significant long-term complications such as metabolic disturbances and infection.

Other names

Autologous Neo-Urinary Conduit