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Updated: Aug 22, 2025

Patient-derived Orthotopic Xenograft Models for Human Urothelial Cell Carcinoma and Colorectal Cancer Tumor Growth and Spontaneous Metastasis
Published on: May 12, 2019
Urothelial Carcinoma: Divergent Differentiation and Morphologic Subtypes
Jatin Gandhi1, Jie-Fu Chen2, Hikmat Al-Ahmadie2
1Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, 1364 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
Abstract:
Urothelial carcinoma (UC) is known to encompass a wide spectrum of morphologic features and molecular alterations. Approximately 15% to 25% of invasive UC exhibits histomorphologic features in the form of "divergent differentiation" along other epithelial lineages, or different "subtypes" of urothelial or sarcomatoid differentiation. It is recommended that the percentage of divergent differentiation and or subtype(s) be reported whenever possible. Recent advances in molecular biology have led to a better understanding of the molecular underpinning of these morphologic variations. In this review, we highlight histologic characteristics of the divergent differentiation and subtypes recognized by the latest version of WHO classification, with updates on their molecular and clinical features.
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