Concomitant carcinoma in situ and tumour size are prognostic factors for bladder recurrence after nephroureterectomy for upper tract transitional cell carcinoma.

Objective: To identify prognostic risk factors for the development of subsequent bladder recurrence in patients undergoing nephroureterectomy (NU) for upper tract transitional cell carcinoma (TCC).

Patients And Methods: The data of 79 patients who underwent NU for localized upper tract TCC were collected retrospectively, and analysed for clinical and pathological variables. Patients with previous invasive bladder tumours were excluded.

A chemosensitivity test for superficial bladder cancer based on three-dimensional culture of tumour spheroids.

Objectives: Three-dimensional (3D) spheroids are a good model for studying in vitro chemosensitivity because they reproduce unicellular and multicellular mechanisms of drug resistance. We aimed to develop a chemosensitivity test for intravesical drugs and to also verify the effects of verapamil (VPM) and ciprofloxacin (CIPRO).

Methods: Cold cup biopsies from 40 superficial bladder tumours were taken, fragmented, and left in culture.