Clinical pitfalls in diagnosis of nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer

Current global economic crisis imposes healthcare system to reduce unnecessary investigations and increase early detection of tumors, to decrease the costs of an advanced disease. Several diagnostic pitfalls may occur dealing with bladder cancer (BC), particularly in nonmuscle-invasive (NMIBC) one. Hematuria, the commonest sign in NMIBC, is often underestimated. Urinary cytology is highly specific for high-grade tumors, but has a low sensitivity for low-grade BC, is operator dependent, and not always obtainable in clinical practice. Numerous urinary tests are available to ameliorate the accuracy of cytology, but none of them is routinly used in urological practice. Ultrasound could hardly detect a small bladder tumor, especially if located in the bladder neck or in the anterior wall. Computed tomography (CT) is widely adopted as an alternative to conventional urography, but its usefulness in patients with hematuria is still debated. MRI has a higher accuracy than CT for staging BC and evaluate the bladder-wall invasion. A negative cystoscopy cannot exclude Tis and should be accompanied by urinary cytology in patients with suspected Tis or high-risk NMIBC; however, new techniques such as narrow band imaging (NBI) and photodynamic (PDD) increase the detection rate of BC and flat lesions. Nearly half of all diagnostic resections present omission of muscle in the specimen or its mention in the pathology report, which is associated with an increased mortality. An adequate muscle sampling during endoscopic resection is mandatory, particularly in patients with high-grade disease. Recognition of pitfalls in diagnosis and management of BC represents the first step for a correct approach.