Upper Urinary Tract Transitional Cell Carcinoma

The upper urinary tract is lined with urothelium that is identical to the urothelium lining the bladder. Like the bladder, this is exposed to the urine-borne carcinogens responsible for the development of urothelial cancers. Upper tract tumors are less common than tumors in the bladder, and this may be due to the shorter contact time of carcinogens with the urothelium or due to different activation mechanisms in the urine. Urothelial tumors of the renal pelvis account for approximately 10% of all renal tumors and 5% of all urothelial tumors (1).