Urothelial cancer of the urinary bladder: can lessons learned be applied to the upper urinary tract?

Even though urothelial cancer may occur anywhere in the urinary tract, it is most commonly found in the urinary bladder. Due to its higher incidence, this disease is studied in the bladder much more frequently than in the upper urinary tract. The question that arises is, to what extent can concepts and treatment paradigms derived from lower tract disease be applied to urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary tract? This review aims at providing an overview of established care concepts in urothelial carcinoma of the bladder and applicability of these findings to tumors of the upper urinary tract.