Summary
The ultrastructure of urothelium from 4 patients with no evidence of tumour was compared with that taken from 22 patients with bladder neoplasms of different grade and stage. Two features were quantified: the percentage of reduplication of the basal lamina and the percentage of discontinuous basal lamina.
Tumours showed a lower percentage of reduplicated basal laminae than normal tissues, the difference being significant in 3 out of 4 types of tumours. The difference in frequency between normal tissues and non-recurring tumours was not significant, but there was a significant difference between normals and recurring tumours.
All types of tumours showed discontinuities in the basal lamina, including 80% of those staged non-invasive by light microscopy. None of the normal tissues showed these. The percentage of discontinuities seen in non-recurrent tumours was half that seen in recurrent ones, but both groups were significantly higher than normals.
Loss of continuity of the basement membrane distinguishes invasive from non-invasive tumours. However, there is a high probability of these being missed by light microscopy alone. Therefore, electron microscopic studies on recurrent bladder tumours would increase the accuracy of staging and prognosis.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Battifora H, Eisenstein R, McDonald JH (1964) The human urinary bladder mucosa. Invest Urol 1:354–361
Battifora HA, Eisenstein R, Sky-Peck HH, McDonald JH (1965) Electron microscopy and tritiated thymidine in gradation of malignancy of human bladder carcinoma. J Urol 93:217–223
Cohen B, Poswillo DE, Woods DA (1971) The effects of exposure of chewing tobacco on the oral mucosa of monkey and man. Ann R Coll Surg Engl 48:255–273
Cooper EH (1972) The biology of bladder cancer. Ann R Coll Surg Engl 51:1–16
Fasske E, Morgenroth K jun (1966) Electron microscopic studies on the relation of the basement membrane to the squamous cell carcinomas in animals. Oncologia 20:113–128
Frei JV (1978) Objective measurement of basement membrane abnormalities in human neoplasms of colorectum and breast. Histopathology 2:107–115
Frithiof L (1969) Ultrastructure of the basement membrane in normal and hyperplastic human oral epithelium compared with that in pre-invasive and invasive carcinoma. Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand Suppl 200
Fulker MJ, Cooper EH, Tanaka T (1971) Proliferation and ultrastructure of papillary transitional cell carcinoma of the human bladder. Cancer 27:71–82
Gould VE, Gould NS, Benditt ET (1972) Ultrastructural aspects of papillary and sclerosing carcinomas of the thyroid. Cancer 29:1613
Gould VE, Battifora H (1976) Origin and significance of the basal lamina and some interstitial fibrillar components in epithelial neoplasms. In: Pathology Annual, vol 11 Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York, p 353–386
Haynes M, Trott, PA, Islam AKMS, Hirst G (1975) An ultrastructural study of the urinary bladder in children correlated with histological, bacteriological and clinical findings. J Clin Pathol 28:176–188
Hicks RM (1965) The fine structure of the transitional epithelium of the rat ureter. J Cell Biol 26:25–48
Hicks RM (1975) The mammalian urinary bladder: an accomodating organ. Biol Rev 50:215–246
Koss LG (1977) Some ultrastructural aspects of experimental and human carcinoma of the bladder. Cancer Res 37:2824–2831
Mathan M, Hermos JA, Trier JS (1972) Structural features of the epithelio-mesenchymal interface of rat duodenal mucosa during development. J Cell Biol 52:577
Pugh RCB (1973) The pathology of cancer of the bladder. Cancer 32:1267–1274
Saltpeter MM, Singer M (1960) Differentiation of the submicroscopic adepidermal membrane during limb regeneration in adult Triturus, including a note on the use of the term basement membrane. Anat Rec 136:27
Sugar F (1968) An electron microscopic study of early invasive growth in human skin tumours and laryngeal carcinoma. Eur J Cancer 4:33–38
Tannenbaum M, Veenema RJ, Lattimer JK (1970) More accurate staging of bladder cancers through electron microscopy. J Urol 103:432
Tarin D (1967) Sequential electron microscopical study of experimental mouse skin carcinogenesis. Int J Cancer 2:195–211
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Smith, A.F. An ultrastructural and morphometric study of bladder tumours (I). Virchows Arch. A Path. Anat. and Histol. 390, 11–21 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00443895
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00443895