Course Map: Epithelial Tumors: Malignant: Urothelial Carcinoma: Variants of Urothelial Carcinoma: Micropapillary Variant

Micropapillary Variant
This describes a pattern of growth which is frequently seen in invasive urothelial carcinomas. Small aggregates of tumor cells are associated with retraction artifacts that mimic vascular invasion. These are aggressive tumors, usually occurring with more typical areas of transitional cell carcinoma [9,70].
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	Figure 1: There is a grade I papillary carcinoma at the upper right, but the invasive element has a micropapillary morphology.
	Figure 2: Micropapillary variant of urothelial carcinoma. Note the artifactual spaces around each cell nest--not to be confused with vascular or lymphatic invasion.