Role of fluorescence in situ hybridization in the diagnosis of urothelial cancer in asymptomatic hematuria patients

The present study aimed to investigate the feasibility and validity of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in the diagnosis of urothelial cancer (UC) in asymptomatic hematuria patients. Probes to the pericentromeric regions of chromosomes 3, 7 and 17, and to the 9p21 band were used in FISH at detecting UC in 53 hematuria patients negative on imaging, cystoscopy and cytology but highly suspicious for UC. Among 53 asymptomatic patients with hematuria, 15 were FISH-positive, of whom 13 were followed for 3-12 months. Of these 15 patients, 5 were finally diagnosed with bladder UC and 2 with renal pelvis cancer. Among 38 patients who were FISH-negative, none developed UC during the follow up period. FISH is a significant additional and complementary method for detection of UC in hematuria patients who were negative on cystoscopy and cytology but suspicious for UC. Key words: Bladder cancer, in situ hybridization, diagnosis.