[Value of exfoliative cytology of the urinary bladder in occult bladder cancer and in the control of treated cancers].

The exfoliative cytology of the urinary bladder is helpful in the detection of occult bladder carcinoma, which in according to definition is not recognizable without magnification, as well as in the follow-up of treated bladder carcinoma. Within a period of 5 years 23 occult bladder carcinomas were detected by cytological studies alone. The degree of malignancy of the established transitional cell carcinoma varied between G2 and G3. The latent period between the found cytological result and the histological confirmation amounted to 14 months. In our experience the diagnosis of occult bladder carcinoma can be established by exfoliative cytology of the urinary bladder, if invisible parts of tumor with moderate and high degree of malignancy communicate with the mucosa of the bladder. The cytological recognition of malignant cells of urothelium offers valuable support for further therapeutic procedures, if there is no cystoscopic evidence of tumor in the bladder. In addition to clinical diagnosis of bladder cancer exfoliative cytology of the urinary bladder should also be part of the follow-up of treated bladder cancer.