Guidelines Office discusses upper urinary tract urothelial carcinomas

Profs. Morgan Rouprêt (FR), Joan Palou (ES) and Richard Zigeuner (AT), presented today the latest update of the EAU Guidelines on upper urinary tract urothelial carcinomas (UTUC) during Plenary Session 2 which examined various issues on UTUC.

Palou mentioned that endoscopic management of UTUC with flexible ureteroscopy shows promising results, especially in patients with solitary kidney, bilateral disease, or renal insufficiency. He also stressed the importance of knowing the tumour grade.

“You can be quite sure that a low-grade tumour is non-invasive,” Palou said. In UTUC, close monitoring and follow-up of both the lower and the upper urinary tract is mandatory because of the risk of recurrence and progression.

On the other hand, Zigeuner presented a complicated case that demonstrated the strong epidemiological link between bladder tumour and UTUC. The case illustrated that adequate bladder management is essential. Moreover, it highlighted that the gold standard of surgical treatment remains radical nephroureterectomy.

Rouprêt concluded the session by emphasising that further research on the management and follow-up of UTUC is necessary. The Guidelines Office is expected to release this year its new version of the EAU recommendations on UTUC.