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Home > Physicians > Non-Gynecological Cytology > Urine Cytology Urinary bladder cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the Western world and is responsible for about 3% of all cancer-related deaths. Approximately 90% of bladder tumors are carcinomas derived from the bladder epithelial surface (the urothelium). In most regions of the world, transitional cell carcinoma is the most common histologic type of bladder cancer. Current concepts postulate that the common transitional cell cancers, papillary and non papillary, arise via two distinct but overlapping pathogenetic pathways. Approximately 80% of urothelial bladder cancers are superficial, growing as exophytic papillary lesions, which may recur but usually do not invade and metastasize. These cancers originate from hyperplastic urothelium. The remaining 20% of urothelial bladder cancers are highly aggressive, solid, nonpapillary carcinomas, which have strong propensity to invade and metastasize. The vast majority of invasive bladder cancers occur in patients without a history of papillary tumors and originate from clinically occult, mild to moderate dysplasia, progressing to server dysplasia and carcinoma in situ and then to invasive cancer. However, in some patients who present with low-grade superficial papillary lesions, intraurothelial neoplasia may eventually develop and progress to invasive cancer. Urine cytology remains the gold standard for bladder cancer screening. It is the test against which all others are compared when evaluating potential bladder tumor markers. Urine cytology has excellent specificity with few false-positive cases. Urine cytology often results in the identification of high-grade malignant cells even before a cytoscopically distinguishable gross lesion is present. Benefits of ThinPrep® Technology The use of the ThinPrep® Non-Gyn for specimens from the urinary tract:
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