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Published on: March 29, 2019
Is cystoscopy indicated for incidentally identified bladder wall thickening?
Daniel S McPartlin1, Adam P Klausner, Charles U Nottingham
1Division of Urology, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, Virginia 23298-0118, USA.
The Canadian Journal of Urology
|February 26, 2013
Summary
Incidental bladder wall thickening on CT scans rarely indicates cancer. Cystoscopy for focal bladder mass lesions has a higher chance of detecting malignancy, while diffuse or focal thickening does not yield cancer diagnoses.
Area of Science:
- Urology
- Oncology
- Radiology
Background:
- Computed tomography (CT) scans can incidentally reveal bladder wall thickening.
- The clinical significance of these incidental findings requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the diagnostic yield of cystoscopy for detecting bladder cancer when the indication is incidentally found bladder wall thickening on CT scans.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of 3000 cystoscopies (2006-2009).
- Identification of patients with incidental bladder wall thickening on prior CT scans.
- Categorization of thickening as diffuse, focal, or focal mass; data collection on patient demographics, risk factors, and outcomes.
Main Results:
- 22 patients (0.7%) had incidental bladder wall thickening; 3 had focal mass lesions.
- 5 patients (22.7%) required biopsy; 2 (9.1%) were diagnosed with low-grade, superficial bladder cancer.
- No malignancies were found in patients with diffuse or focal bladder wall thickening.
Conclusions:
- Incidental diffuse or focal bladder wall thickening on CT has a low yield for detecting malignancy.
- Focal bladder mass lesions identified incidentally warrant further investigation due to a higher likelihood of malignancy.
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