The clinicopathological features of bladder carcinoma among Saudis in Riyadh Central Hospital

In a retrospective study, the records of 54 Saudi patients constituting 35.2% of the total number of patients with bladder carcinoma presenting to Riyadh Central Hospital over a seven year period (1985G to 1992G) were reviewed. Eighty-one percent of the patients were habitants of the Central Province of Saudi Arabia. Their mean age was 60 +/- 14.8 years. Male to female ratio was 5:1; gross hematuria was the main presenting symptom, occurring in 90% of patients. Twenty-four patients presented six months or more after the onset of symptoms. Upper tract deterioration was noted in 50% of cases at the time of initial presentation. A total of 76.9% of bladder tumors were transitional cell carcinoma, 19.2% were squamous cell carcinoma and 3.8% were poorly differentiated. Only 29% were superficial tumors while 71% were at least muscle-invading at presentation. The majority of tumors were of high grade. This study shows that high grade muscle-invading transitional cell carcinoma is the most frequent histological pattern of bladder tumor in Riyadh Central Hospital. Delay in patient presentation associated with a tendency for invasion of bladder tumor in this region resulted in a high percentage of incurable disease.