Staging with computed tomography, transrectal ultrasonography and transurethral resection of bladder tumour: comparison with final pathological stage in invasive bladder carcinoma

Abstract

To assess the accuracy of clinical staging methods in patients with locally advanced bladder cancer.Sixty-five patients with invasive bladder cancer primarily staged using transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS), computed tomography (CT) and transurethral resection of the bladder tumour (TURBT) were compared with the final pathological stage determined after radical cystectomy.Accurate staging was obtained by TRUS, CT and TURBT in 40, 35 and 46% of the patients, respectively. The rank correlation between primary clinical stage and final pathological stages was significant by all three methods, but not close.The results of this study raise doubts about the assumed benefit of TRUS and CT in the clinical staging of invasive bladder tumours. These methods did not improve the findings obtained by TURBT alone.