About FISH...not the swimming kind...........
Summary
Expert Review of Molecular Diagnostics
January 2007, Vol. 7, No. 1, Pages 11-19
(doi:10.1586/14737159.7.1.11)
Fluorescence in situ hybridization: a multitarget approach in diagnosis and management of urothelial cancer
Harm C Arentsen, Jean JMCH de la Rosette, Theo M de Reijke and Sigrun Langbein
† Author for correspondence
Noninvasive tests for detecting genetic or molecular alterations in urine indicative of urothelial cancer are increasingly becoming the focus of urological cancer research. Since its approval by the US FDA in 2001, the fluorescence in situ hybridization test (Vysis®UroVysion™) has been widely evaluated. In general, published data demonstrate better sensitivity and equal or better specificity compared with routine cytology, which is still considered the 'gold standard’ in diagnosing and monitoring bladder tumors. However, the fluorescence in situ hybridization test seems to provide not only a useful tool in bladder cancer detection, but also in the diagnosis of upper urinary tract tumors, surveillance and determining therapy effectiveness. This multitarget assay that detects four different chromosomal aberrations in tumor cells is a kind of objective molecular cytology and has proven advantages over routinely used cytology.