[Hematuria in cases of bladder cancer]

In the majority of cases, painless macroscopic hematuria is a typical initial symptom of bladder carcinoma. The time of occurrence (early and late symptom) neither correlates with tumor size and degree nor with infiltration depth. The respective testing method and threshold value exert a significant influence on frequency and constancy of a potential microscopic hematuria. Without sufficient standardization, however, it is understandable that even the existing guidelines for diagnosis of hematuria recommend different methods and threshold values. This paper provides an overview of the various testing methods and threshold values in microscopic hematuria, their influence on the diagnosis of bladder carcinoma as well as the possibility of differentiating the source of hematuria morphologically.