[New diagnostic tests for urothelial tumors of the bladder]

Urothelial bladder tumours require regular surveillance: cystoscopy combined with urine cytology remains the reference examination. Several tests designed to diagnose bladder tumours have been recently proposed in order to replace cytology and possibly reduce or even replace systematic cystoscopy. These tests are currently being evaluated and their indications have not yet been established. In this article, the authors review the results of recent studies concerning bladder tumour antigen (BTA), fibrin/fibrinogen degradation products (AuraTek FDP) and nuclear matrix protein (NMP-22). These tests are the subject of numerous research studies and have already been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. The majority of these studies appear to show that these tests have better diagnostic performances than cytology. However, in the absence of an experimental study validating the possibility of replacing cystoscopy in the surveillance of recurrent bladder tumours by one of these tests, they can only be used as an aid to diagnosis, at the present time.