Urinary Cytology in Bladder Cancer: Why is it Still Relevant?

Abstract

Bladder carcinoma is the most common malignancy of the urinary tract and cystoscopy with cytology is currently considered the gold standard for the detection and surveillance of primary tumors and for the follow-up of patients after transurethral resection. Even if cytology has a low sensitivity especially in low-grade bladder carcinomas, the high specificity and the inexpensive nature of the equipment required, justify performing it. The greatest value of cytology for patients with low-grade, nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is the detection of those lesions that may progress to high-grade urothelial carcinoma.