Histological evaluation of superficial bladder tumors treated by Nd-YAG laser and transurethral resection

Based on 3 study groups we have tried to analyze some concepts concerning the treatment of superficial bladder tumors by the Nd-YAG laser. In the first group of 34 superficial bladder tumors, we evaluated the accuracy of cold-cup biopsy in staging the tumor before treatment with the laser (100% for grade and 90% for stage). The possibility of identifying the tumoral grade in the lasered mass is 73%. In the second group of 53 random superficial bladder tumors we compared the effects of laser and transurethral resection (TUR) with regard to recurrence and progression after a 3-year follow-up: no significant differences are found between the treatments. In the third group the histologic changes in the bladder wall after treatment with the laser or TUR were evaluated by cold-cup biopsy (31 lasered cases and 24 resected cases) and by resector loop biopsy (11 lasered cases and 11 resected cases) between 12 and 24 months after treatment, without significant differences in terms of fibrosis.