Urine microscopy for malignant cytology "Painless haematuria is by far the most common symptom of bladder cancer and should be regarded as indicative of a bladder carcinoma until proven otherwise." Bailey & Love 25/e p1336 (24/e p1363) Cigarette smoking is the main etiological factor and accounts ,for about 50% of bladder cancers Among the given options 'urine microscopy' is the best choice for investigating a pt. with high suspicion for bladder ca. This is not a good screening test but a positive result is highly specific. The best investigation would be cystoscopy & biopsy. Investigations for bladder cancer 1. Urinary cytology - Exfoliated cells from both normal and neoplastic urothelium can be readily identified in voided urine. Examination of cytological specimens can detect the malignant cells either at the time of initial presentation or during follow-up. Cytological examination may be especially useful in screening high-risk population and assessing the response to treatment. 2. Cystourethroscopy and tumor resection - The diagnosis and initial staging of bladder cancer is made by cystoscopy and transurethral resection. 3.Imaging (IVP, CT, MRI) - Although various imaging techniques can detect bladder cancer, its presence is confirmed by cystoscopy & biopsy. - Therefore imaging modalities are used to image the upper urinary tract and, when infiltrating bladder tumors are detected to assess the depth of muscle wall infiltration and the presence of local & distant metastasis. - Intravenous urography remains one of the most common imaging tests for the evaluation of hematuria. However, intravenous pyelography is increasingly being replaced by computed tomography (CT) urography, which is more accurate, for evaluation of the entire abdominal cavity, renal parenchyma, and ureters in patients with hematuria. Bladder tumors may be recognized as pedunculated, radiolucent filling defects projecting into the lumen; nonpapillary, infiltrating tumors may result in fixation or flattening of the bladder wall. 4. Urinary tumor markers - - Several new tests have been developed in order to overcome the shocomings of urinary cytology such as the low sensitivity for low-grade superficial tumors and inter-observer variability. - Commercially available tests include, the BTA test, the BTA stat test, the BTA TRAK assay determination of urinary nuclear matrix protein (NMP22), Immunocyt and UroVysion . - These tests can detect cancer specific proteins in urine (BTA/NMP22) or augment cytology by identifying cell surface or cytogenetic markers in the nucleus. Other tests under investigation include identification of the Lewis X antigen on exfoliated urothelial cells, and the determination of telomerase activity in exfoliated cells. - These tests have been demonstrated to enhance detection of bladder cancer when used either individually or in combination with cytology. They have been used to detect both new index tumors as well as recurrent tumors.