[Analysis of prognostic factors in superficial bladder tumors]

When the traditional prognostic factors (tumor grade, stage, size, number and cytological findings) are used as guidelines for intravesical therapy of superficial bladder tumors and the reported results are compared, it is not uncommon to find unexplainable differences. This study was conducted to determine the prognostic factors for tumor recurrence and progression before instituting any type of adjuvant therapy for superficial bladder tumors.

81 consecutive patients with primary superficial bladder cancer (stage Ta-T1, grade 1-3) were entered into a surveillance protocol and controlled for a mean period of 14 months (range 3-44). Patient individual features (sex and age) and tumor characteristics (grade, stage, size, number, cytological findings) were analyzed to determine the risk of tumor recurrence and/or progression.

Logistic regression analysis identified age as the only independent prognostic factor for recurrence, which was 6.37 fold (2-42) more frequent for subjects aged 65 years or older. Given the low progression rate (3 cases; 4.8%), a formal risk analysis could not be performed.

The factors used to predict recurrence (tumor grade, stage, size, number and cytological findings) were not found to be independent in the present series. Certain predictors of tumor aggressiveness-such as age-, which could modify tumor biology, were found to predispose to tumor recurrence.