Urine cytology - Is it still the gold standard for screening?

Despite low sensitivity fur detecting low-grade urothelial malignancies, ur inary cytology remains the gold standard for bladder cancer screening. Effo rts to employ ancillary techniques such as flow cytometry, image analysis, cell markers, and p53 staining have not resulted in a desired increase in s ensitivity. More recent endeavors have focused on potential bladder tumor m arkers, the convenience and high sensitivity of which may render urinary cy tology obsolete. The salient features of bladder tumor markers and the diag nostic features of urinary cytology are reviewed.