Urine Cytology Findings In Patients With Biopsy-Confirmed Urothelial Carcinoma In Situ With Plasmacytoid Features

BACKGROUND Urine cytology is an important screening tool in the diagnosis of high-grade urothelial carcinoma. Diagnosis in urine samples follows criteria outlined by The Paris System for Reporting Urinary Cytology (TPS). However, cytologic characteristics of the recently described urothelial carcinoma in situ with plasmacytoid features (P-CIS) have not been described, and it is unknown whether they conform to TPS criteria for high-grade urothelial carcinoma. This study was aimed at better characterizing possibly unique cytologic features of P-CIS.METHODS The authors collected urine cytology specimens from patients with subsequent bladder biopsy-proven P-CIS. Specimens were re-reviewed according to the TPS criteria. The proposed cytologic features of P-CIS (eccentric, enlarged, and hyperchromatic nuclei) were evaluated; this included the reproducibility of 3 cytopathologists for the proposed cytologic features.RESULTS Seventy-four urine specimens from 18 patients with P-CIS-diagnosed bladder biopsies were identified. The TPS diagnoses of the 74 urine cytology specimens were as follows: negative for high-grade urothelial carcinoma (n = 26), atypical urothelial cells (n = 26), suspicious for high-grade urothelial carcinoma (n = 12), and high-grade urothelial carcinoma (n = 10). Only 7 urine specimens met the proposed cytologic criteria for P-CIS, and they had TPS diagnoses of negative for high-grade urothelial carcinoma (n = 1), atypical urothelial cells (n = 3), and high-grade urothelial carcinoma (n = 3). The kappa interobserver agreement ranged from poor to fair.CONCLUSION The features of P-CIS on urine cytology are subtle and infrequently reproducible and often do not meet the TPS criteria for diagnosis as high-grade urothelial carcinoma. In specimens that do not meet TPS criteria for high-grade urothelial carcinoma, P-CIS cytology in isolation would be best classified as atypical urothelial cells.