By applying matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight MS to the purified 26 kDa NOV variant, we determined the exact sequence of this truncated protein and found that the truncated NOV/CCN3 protein is cut at the 187th amino acid of the full-length protein found in bladder cancer, causing it to lose its signal peptide, IGFBP and VWC domains. The gene discussed is CCN3; the disease is urinary bladder cancer.