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The various clinical guidelines on the workup and initial management of a patient presenting with haematuria are based on limited scientific evidence. Survey data suggest that these guidelines are inconsistently applied, perhaps owing to variations between guidelines and the lack of higher level evidence. Nonetheless, based on existing evidence and appropriate risk stratification, Nielsen and Qaseem describe a haematuria workup that is safe, appropriately aggressive, and cost-effective.

Modifications and refinements of standard laparoscopic instrumentation have led to an increasing interest in the use of single-incision surgery for urological procedures. In this Review, the authors discuss the terminology for this new type of surgery, the advances in laparoscopic instrumentation, and the results of single-incision urological surgery.

Data suggest that chemotherapy is a sound treatment option for urothelial cancer across the disease spectrum. However, despite a twofold increase in survival in patients receiving chemotherapy, it does not seem to be offered to all patients.

Partial nephrectomy has become the standard of care for small renal masses, with minimally-invasive techniques such as laparoscopic, robotic-assisted and laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS) becoming increasingly popular. However, the complexity of the procedure generates uncertainty as to whether successful outcomes of LESS partial nephrectomy from large-volume centres can be translated into smaller urology practices.

For years, the standard protocol when performing a partial nephrectomy has been to leave a drain for monitoring postoperative complications, such as urinary fistulae and hemorrhage. Contemporary literature is now suggesting that, in select cases, drain placement (with its associated morbidity) might be unnecessary.

Extended pelvic lymph node dissection has been shown to markedly improve oncologic outcomes in patients with urothelial carcinoma of the bladder, but the value of lymphadenectomy in the management of upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) is less clear. In this Review, the authors discuss whether routine regional lymph node dissection can be recommended for UTUC on the basis of the available evidence.

A number of management options are available for patients with upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma. In this Review these different treatment options are discussed along with issues of how to select the most appropriate treatment for patients with different clinical characteristics. Follow-up is also reviewed, particularly the issue of tumor recurrence in the bladder.

FOX transcription factors are differentially expressed in bladder cancer subtypes and some are key regulators of embryonic bladder development. Yamashita et al. describe the specific roles of FOX genes and proteins in development and differentiation, and highlight functions in bladder cancer pathogenesis.