[Diagnosis of upper urinary tract tumors. A pending challenge]

Early diagnosis of upper urinary tract tumors is not easy. The development of endoscopic equipment has expanded the group of patients candidates for minimally invasive treatment. Only by providing accurate tumor staging and grading can clinicians decide which patients should be offered conservative therapies. We need diagnostic methods that allow us to make an early and accurate diagnosis for these lesions, as well as safe follow-up. Our proposal is to present a review of the most used diagnostic method, their features, and future diagnostic tools. The diagnostic arsenal requires further improvement. Only through accurate diagnosis, we will be able to safely provide conservative treatment. Developing new diagnostic techniques seem to move us closer to this goal even more. We propose a working algorithm on the management of these lesions.