CIS of the bladder: a review of literature

Carcinoma in situ (CIS) of the bladder poses a clinical challenge to urologists worldwide. The clinical course of CIS ranges from benign, indolent tumor growth to highly progressive tumor proliferation with deleterious effects on patient outcome and increased disease-specific mortality. The aim of our review was to outline the natural history of bladder CIS in a single concise source for young urologists. We performed a PubMed review of the literature on CIS of the bladder. We used CIS, BCG and superficial bladder cancer as the keywords for our search. Following a group discussion, the authors selected 77 important publications to be included in our review article. The presence of bladder CIS increases the risk of panurothelial disease involving the prostate, urethra or upper urinary tracts. Urine cytology is the primary approach for the diagnosis of CIS. Intravesical BCG remains the gold standard for the initial treatment of CIS. Early radical cystectomy for cases that present BCG failure showed a higher rate of success with long-term cure. Frozen section biopsy of the distal ureter should be performed when CIS of the bladder has been preoperatively diagnosed. Whether frozen section biopsy was performed and regardless of the condition of the distal ureter at the time of cystectomy, postoperative follow-up with cytology, endoscopy of the new pouch and ureteroscopy of the ureters is recommended for early detection of possible recurrence.