Diagnostic value of positive urinary cytology in the detection of recurrent urothelial carcinoma: 10-Year Experience at the Papanicolaou Cytology Laboratory.
BACKGROUND
Urothelial carcinoma (UCC) of the bladder is the most common malignancy of the urinary tract. The performance of urine cytology (UCy) after radical cystectomy (RC) and urinary diversion is quite variable and there is no consensus regarding its role in post-treatment surveillance. The goal of this study is to retrospectively review the diagnostic value of positive (suspicious or positive for malignancy) diverted urine cytology (DUCy) in the detection of urinary tract recurrence of UCC.


METHODS
A retrospective 10-year (January 2005 to January 2015) computerized search for all DUCy specimens was conducted. All suspicious (Susp) or positive for malignant cells (PMC) ThinPrep cases were identified and retrospectively reviewed. Clinical, surgical, and pathological follow-up for patients with Susp or PMC UCy were tabulated and analyzed.


RESULTS
During the 10-year-period, 1,525 DUCy cases from 408 patients were identified. Of these, 25 cases (1.64%) from 10 patients were called either Susp (13; 0.85%) or PMC (12; 0.79%). The 25 DUCy cases occurred within a mean of 20 months post-RC. Out of 10 patients, 9 had a concurrent biopsy or a subsequent resection of the recurrent site. Of these 9 patients, 8 (89%) had subsequent biopsy or resection, which showed recurrent UCC. In 5/8 patients, positive DUCy was the very first manifestation of recurrence, which was subsequently confirmed by imaging or histology.


CONCLUSIONS
It is our experience that patients with positive UCy after RC have a high likelihood of recurrent UCC and should be counseled and managed accordingly. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2016;44:975-979. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Papanicolaou Cytology Laboratory, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York.
Vignesh
V
Shanmugam
Papanicolaou Cytology Laboratory, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York.
Brian
B
Geraghty
Papanicolaou Cytology Laboratory, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York.
Robert A
RA
DeSimone
Papanicolaou Cytology Laboratory, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York.
Rana S
RS
Hoda
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000652:urine; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000652:urine; D014556:Urine / Q000166:cytology*; D019459:Urothelium / Q000473:pathology*
ThinPrep; cystectomy; high-grade urothelial carcinoma; ileal conduit; urine cytology