TNKS-1 mRNA in urine sediment from patients with bladder TCC correlated with tumor stage, and higher preoperative levels were associated with increased risk of early recurrence. Tankyrase-1 is required in the assembly of bipolar spindles and the spindle-pole protein NuMA as a substrate for covalent modification by tankyrase-1. Data also show that tankyrase 1 inhibition in human cancer cells enhances telomere shortening by a telomerase inhibitor and hastens cell death.