Positive urinary cytology in patients without evident tumor

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Oncology
• Diagnostic Cytopathology

Background:

• Urinary cytology is a key diagnostic tool for detecting urothelial carcinoma.
• False-negative results can delay cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the significance of initially negative diagnostic workups in patients with positive urinary cytology.
• To determine the rate of subsequent tumor detection in this patient cohort.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 267 patients with positive urinary cytology over a 5-year period.
• Review of initial diagnostic studies, including cystoscopy, for patients with negative findings.
• Long-term follow-up to document subsequent tumor identification.

Main Results:

• Nine out of 267 patients (3.4%) had a positive urinary cytology but no tumor identified initially.
• Tumors were subsequently documented in 8 of these 9 patients within 1 to 61 months.
• This highlights a significant rate of missed diagnoses at initial evaluation.

Conclusions:

• Positive urinary cytology warrants thorough investigation, even with negative initial findings.
• Regular follow-up is essential for patients with positive cytology and negative initial diagnostic studies to detect delayed-onset tumors.
• This underscores the importance of vigilant surveillance in urothelial carcinoma diagnosis.