Prediction of tumour progression in superficial bladder carcinoma

In a retrospective study, prognostic factors have been analyzed in 45 patients with superficial bladder carcinoma (Tis, Ta, T1) with subsequent progression to invasive (T2, T3, T4) and/or metastatic (M+) disease. The findings are compared with those from a control group of 17 patients with no subsequent invasive or metastatic disease. In a single-parameter analysis the following parameters were significantly associated with a high risk of developing invasive disease: tumour multiplicity; tumour invasion of blood and/or lymph vessels; increasing histological grade, and the history of previous surgical treatment. In a multivariate analysis, multifocality, small vessel infiltration and previous treatment per time (TPT factor) were significantly related to the risk of subsequent progression. An arbitrary score system revealed that progression could be predicted significantly in patients with a high score.