Lapham R L, Ro J Y, Staerkel G A, Ayala A G
Department of Pathology, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston 77030, USA.
Semin Surg Oncol. 1997 Sep-Oct;13(5):307-18. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1098-2388(199709/10)13:5<307::aid-ssu4>3.0.co;2-h.
Transitional cell carcinomas are divided into superficial and muscle-invasive tumors. Most of them are superficial tumors, and approximately 15-20% are muscle-invasive carcinomas. Pathologists play a significant role in diagnosing bladder tumors and in reporting features important for determining prognosis. We will review the cytologic and histopathologic features that help determine prognosis, including depth of invasion, tumor grade, multicentricity, tumor size, and the presence of vascular/lymphatic invasion, blood group antigen expression, proliferative indices, and molecular markers. Brief mention will be made of specimen handling, interpretation, reporting, and histologic variants of transitional cell carcinoma.
