Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Bladder cancer

Normal cystoscopy, malignant cytology in NMIBC: why biopsy?

Subjects

Bladder biopsy of normal-looking mucosa, as determined by cystoscopy, might not add clinical value in patients with positive voided-urine cytology after treatment of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Methods to add value to bladder biopsies, such as characterization of molecular alterations, should be considered.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Musser, J. E. et al. Bladder biopsy of normal-appearing mucosa is not helpful in patients with unexplained positive cytology after non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. J. Urol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.juro.2014.06.068.

  2. Jones, J. S. & Larchian, W. A. in Campbell-Walsh Urology 10th edn Ch. 81 (eds Wein, A., Kavoussi, L. R., Novick, A. C., Partin, A. W. & Peters, C. A.) 2335–2354 (Elsevier Saunders, 2012).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  3. May, F., Treiber, U., Hartung, R. & Schwaibold, H. Significance of random bladder biopsies in superficial bladder cancer. Eur. Urol. 44, 47–50 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Lopez-Beltran, A., Montironi, R., Vidal, A., Scarpelly, M. & Cheng, L. Urothelial dysplasia of the bladder: diagnostic features and clinical significance. Anal. Quant. Cytopathol. Histopathol. 35, 121–129 (2013).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Sanfrancesco, J., Jones, J. S. & Hansel, D. E. Diagnostically challenging cases: what are atypia and dysplasia? Urol. Clin. North Am. 40, 281–293 (2013).

    Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Mazzucchelli, R. et al. Chromosomal abnormalities in macroscopically normal urothelium in patients with bladder pT1 and pT2a urothelial carcinoma: a fluorescence in situ hybridization study and correlation with histologic features. Anal. Quant. Cytopathol. Histopathol. 27, 143–151 (2005).

    Google Scholar 

  7. Kiemeney, L. A., Witjes, J. A., Heijbroek, R. P., Debruyne, F. M. & Verbeek, A. L. Dysplasia in normal-looking urothelium increases the risk of tumour progression in primary superficial bladder cancer. Eur. J. Cancer 30A, 1621–1625 (1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Lopez-Beltran, A. et al. Loss of heterozygosity at 9q32–33 (DBC1 locus) in primary non-invasive papillary urothelial neoplasm of low malignant potential and low-grade urothelial carcinoma of the bladder and their associated normal urothelium. J. Pathol. 215, 263–272 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Antonio Lopez-Beltran.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lopez-Beltran, A. Normal cystoscopy, malignant cytology in NMIBC: why biopsy?. Nat Rev Urol 11, 550–551 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrurol.2014.225

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrurol.2014.225

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing