Prognostic Utility of MRI Features in Intradiverticular Bladder Tumor

Intradiverticular bladder tumors (IDBT) are rare but clinically important, as they are difficult to assess endoscopically due to limited anatomic access and risk of perforation. MRI may be helpful in assessing IDBT and providing relevant staging and prognostic information.

To assess MRI findings of IDBT and their relationship with overall survival.

This retrospective study included 31 consecutive patients with IDBT undergoing MRI from 2008 to 2018 identified through electronic medical records and PACS database search. Two radiologists independently assessed the following MRI features: size (>3 vs ≤3 cm), diverticular neck involvement, Vesical Imaging-Reporting and Data System (VI-RADS) score (>3 vs ≤3), perivesical fat infiltration, additional tumors and suspicious pelvic lymph nodes. Overall survival was estimated using Kaplan-Meier analysis; and the relationship with clinicopathological and MRI features was determined using the Cox proportional-hazards regression model. Inter-reader agreement was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and Cohen's kappa (K).

Median follow-up was 1044 days (interquartile range, 474-1952 days). Twenty-six (83.9%) patients underwent surgical treatment with or without neoadjuvant chemotherapy. On MRI, greater tumor size (>3 cm), diverticular neck involvement, perivesical extension, and suspicious lymph nodes were associated with lower overall survival (HR = 3.6-8.1 and 4.3-6.3 for the 2 radiologists, p ≤ 0.03). Other clinicopathological or MRI findings were not associated with survival (p = 0.27-0.65). Inter-reader agreement was excellent for tumor size (ICC = 0.991; 95% CI 0.982-0.996), fair for VI-RADS (K = 0.52, 95% CI, 0.22-0.82), and moderate for others (K = 0.61-0.79).

In patients with IDBT, several MRI features were significantly associated with overall survival. Utilizing all available clinicopathological and imaging information may improve estimation of prognosis.