Quantitative morphometry measurements of transitional cell bladder cancer nuclei as indicator of tumor aggression.

Superficial transitional cell carcinomas of the urinary bladder in 30 patients were studied by quantitative morphometry of the initial and subsequent tumor occurrences. Nuclear histograms were constructed and demonstrated narrow base and single modal peak in 9 of 10 patients not exhibiting tumor recurrence or invasion. In contrast, broad-based multimodal nuclear histograms were present in 15 of 20 patients in whom tumor invasion of carcinoma in situ subsequently developed. Nuclear histograms may provide an accurate means of determining invasive/recurrence potential of transitional cell carcinoma.