Building bridges in urothelial carcinoma to face common challenges

Urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB) and upper tract (UTUC) are now established as two distinct entities with differences in anatomical, biological and molecular characteristics. Indeed, specific clinical guidelines have been produced for each of them to guide clinicians (1-3). Despite their status of “disparate twins”, UCB and UTUC still share similar controversies, issues/challenges. Among other are the role of new imaging and endoscopic techniques, integration of biomarkers in clinical practice, indication and risk management to allow organ-sparing treatment, impact of systemic treatment, and surgery in metastatic disease. Indeed, lessons learned from one entity may be of value for the other, giving physicians the opportunity to improve patient care in urothelial carcinoma (UC) accross all sub-entities.