Möglichkeiten der Krebsvorsorge der Blase und der Ableitenden Harnwege auf der Basis einer automatisierten Urinzy tologieauswer tung

The incidence of bladder tumors has increased in the last years. Often, at the time of diagnosis the tumor has reached a stage in which a curative radical therapy is no longer possible. With the help of urinary cytology it is often possible to obtain evidence of tumors at an early stage, before clinical symptoms become evident. For this reason, urinary cytology would appear to be a reasonable screening method for tumor detection. In the framework laws concerning measures for the preventive treatment of tumors, there is no provision for the early detection of tumors of the bladder and urinary tract. As urine is easily obtainable it appears that urinary cytology could easily by integrated into such a program for early detection of tumors. The evaluation is relatively costly in man-hours and, therefore, not suitable for screening. For this reason, urothelical cells were investigated in respect to their use as a diagnostic parameter in an automated screening test. Urinary cells can be analyzed automatically, but little experience has been made in this area of research. However, it seems that automation of urinary cytology would be a step towards screening method for tumors of the bladder and urinary tract.