Fluorescence in situ hybridization for detection of bladder cancer

Objective To asses the value of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in diagnosis of transitional cell carcinoma of bladder in the urine using directly labeled DNA probes to the pericentromeric regions of chromosomes 3 , 7 and 17 and to the region of P16 tumor suppressor gene. Methods Chromosomal and gene abnormalities were detected using directly labeled DNA probes to the pericentromeric regions of chromosomes 3 , 7, and 17 and to the region of P16 tumor suppressor gene. The sensitivity of FISH and Cytology in diagnosing transitional cell carcinoma of bladder was also compared. Results The sensitivity of FISH and Cytology in diagnosing the disease was 85.5% and 34.2%, respectively. The sensitivity of FISH was prior to that of Cytology( P ＜0.05 ) and increased with increasing tumor pathologic grade but not clinical staging. Conclusions High sensitivity of FISH in diagnosing transitional cell carcinoma of bladder was obtained and it might be a potent method to diagnose bladder cancer in Chinese people in the future. Key words: Transitional cell carcinoma of bladder;  Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH);  Cytology