Evolution Of Classification Of Bladder (Urothelial) Cancer.

ABSTRACT

The classification of bladder tumors has undergone a change over the years but still has not achieved success in predicting the behavior. The correct cellular classification of a tumor helps initiate appropriate treatment. Recently functional, genomic and proteomic data have been of help in aiding prognosis and modifying the treatment in many cancers. However, this data is not routinely integrated into the classification, and treatment protocols in bladder carcinoma hinge on grade and depth of invasion. An in depth understanding of the implication of grade, stage, molecular features on survival is necessary to understand the behavior of the tumor. The classification of Urothelial cancer has undergone a lot of change in terminology over the past century but we have still not identified markers (both morphologic and molecular) for preventing recurrences. It is believed that the treatment protocols should be based on a combination of these and we still have to conduct large-scale follow-up studies to identify these parameters. We present here the changes in bladder cancer classifications over the past century and the implications thereof in this review.