title: [Urothelial carcinoma in the upper urinary tract: developments in diagnostics, treatment and follow-up].
abstract: Ninety-five percent of all urothelial carcinomas are located in the bladder and 5% in the upper urinary tract. Therefore, upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma is relatively rare, with an incidence of 2.1-2.4 per 100,000 persons per year. Diagnosis is based on imaging, endoscopy, urine cytology and histology. Histopathological diagnosis of upper urinary tract tumours is essential for choice of therapy and follow-up, as both tumour grade and stage are important prognostic factors. Radical nephroureterectomy is the standard treatment, but has a direct effect on kidney function. For this reason, an increasing number of patients with low-risk tumours undergo kidney-sparing surgery to maintain kidney function. After kidney-sparing surgery intensive follow-up of the ipsilateral upper urinary tract is mandatory because of a five-year recurrence-free survival rate of 17-63%, depending on tumour grade. Current diagnostics all have their limitations. Nowadays, research focuses on improving diagnosis in order to be able to offer better individual treatment.
authors.affiliation: Academisch Medisch Centrum, afd. Urologie, Amsterdam.
authors.forename: Mieke T J
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Bus
authors.forename: Guido M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Kamphuis
authors.forename: Patricia J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Zondervan
authors.forename: M Pilar
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Laguna Pes
authors.forename: Jean J M C H
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: de la Rosette
authors.forename: Theo M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: de Reijke
mesh_terms: D002277:Carcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D009392:Nephrectomy; D015996:Survival Rate; D014571:Urologic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*