Significance of urinary cytology in the early detection of transitional cell cancer of the upper urinary tract.

Cytologic study of urine from 100 patients with transitional cell cancer of the upper urinary tract revealed that findings on the voided and catheterized specimens correlated well with grade and stage of the tumor. However, there was a significantly greater positive yield with urine specimens obtained by ureteral catheterization than by voiding. Consequently, because concomitant bladder tumors, diagnosed or not, can give questionable positive results ureteral catheterization specimens should be used for cytologic study.