Correlation of ABH antigenicity and urine cytology results in transitional cell carcinoma of bladder.

Loss of ABH antigens from the cell surface of transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder has been proposed as an indicator of increased cellular dedifferentiation and the tendency toward invasive recurrence. An attempt was made to correlate the urinary cytology and the ABH antigen status of 57 patients with histologically confirmed bladder tumors and 28 with only dysplasia on biopsy. A review of the results of surface antigenicity studies and the preoperative urine cytologies showed no significant difference in the diagnostic sensitivity of cytology between comparable antigen negative and positive groups.