RESUMO
Background and purpose: Urothelial cancer is the most common malignant neoplasm in the urinary system. Urine cytology is the standard morality to diagnose urothelial cancer. Although cytology has been shown to have a high specificity, the sensitivity is unacceptably low. The count of copies of chromosomes in interphase cells by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assays has been successfully used as a screening tool in genetic and cancer studies. In this study, we investigated the value of FISH assay for diagnosis of urothelial cancer. Methods:Voided urine samples from 100 patients with haematuria were analyzed by FISH and cytology; labeled probes for chromosomes 3, 7, 9 and 17 were used to assess chromosomal abnormalities. The gold standard was pathology diagnosis. The overall sensitivity and specificity of FISH were evaluated and compared with cytology. Results: The sensitivity of FISH and cytology in detection urothelial cancer were 74.7% and 46.0% respectively; the specificity was 92.3% and 100% respectively (different not significant). There was a significant difference between the sensitivity of FISH and cytology in detection. Conclusion. The FISH assay has a higher sensitivity than cytology and a similar specificity in the detection of urothelial cancer, and could be used as a new method for diagnosis of urothelial cancer.