Surveillance and management of recurrence for upper tract transitional cell carcinoma

Surveillance of treated upper tract TCC must be tailored to each patient based on individual tumor characteristics. Important risk factors include tumor stage, grade, and multifocality. Molecular markers for TCC may assist in future surveillance strategies, but for now remain experimental. Improvements in imaging eventually may provide the sensitivity needed to determine tumor stage, which would make both initial and recurrence management decisions much more accurate. Initial surgical treatment will influence surveillance when it pertains to superficial disease treated conservatively with either open segmental resection or, now more commonly, with endoscopic resection. Patients treated in this manner require vigilant surveillance of the ipsilateral ureter. Direct visualization in combination with cytology currently appears to be the most effective method, using the same timelines as those used for bladder TCC. Prospective studies concerning surveillance protocols for upper tract TCC would certainly provide more evidence for the current recommendations. However, the evidence does show that upper tract TCC behaves biologically much in the same fashion as does bladder TCC. In light of this fact, the current recommendations are meant to suggest following a patient after treatment for upper tract TCC in a manner similar to that used to follow a patient after treatment of bladder TCC, with individual strategies based on tumor characteristics. For superficial disease, the technology now exists to moniter a patient after endoscopic resection of an upper tract tumor in exactly the same manner used to follow a patient after endoscopic resection of a bladder tumor.