[Usefulness of urine cytology for bladder carcinoma diagnosis: comparative study with biopsy].

OBJECTIVES Traditionally, urine cytology has been considered as the gold standard for bladder cancer screening. However, new methods are playing new roles in these cases. In order to assess the value of cytology of voided urine we performed one comparative study between cytology and biopsy. METHODS We retrospectively analyzed the results of urine cytology and biopsy follow-up in 109 patients. All cytologies were from voided urine. They were cytocentrifuged and stained with Papanicolaou stain. RESULTS We found 70 true positive cases and 24 true negative cases. Sensitivity was calculated to be 97% and specifity 96-100%. 12 cases had the first cystoscopy test and biopsy negative, as the cancer was diagnosed in the second biopsy. CONCLUSIONS Patients with clearly positive urine cytology, which was not confirmed in a first cystoscopic study, should be carefully followed up to identify a possible bladder or upper urinary tract cancer. The urine cytology still has a significant role as the gold standard for bladder cancer screening.