The role of transcavitary ultrasonography in diagnosis and staging of nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer: a prospective non-randomized clinical study

To evaluate the efficacy of cystoscopy, computed tomography (CT), transcavitary ultrasound (TCUS) and cytology, separately and in combination, for the diagnosis and evaluation of superficial bladder cancer. Initial cystoscopy and wash-out cytology were performed for 1548 patients. Of these, 206 with proven bladder tumors were included in this prospective study. CT and TCUS were performed for patients with bladder tumors without knowledge of their cystoscopy results. The lesions were classified as low-(pTa) and high-(pT1) risk superficial tumors according to multiplicity and size. Patients were divided into three categories according to their cystoscopically evaluated tumor size: <= 1 cm (88 patients, 42.7%), 1-3 cm (51 patients, 24.8%) and >= 3 cm (67 patients, 32.5%). TCUS identified 46 (22.3%) high-risk patients with/without invasion and 160 (77.7%) low-risk patients with no invasion. Overall, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of TCUS for tumor detection were 77.4%, 60%, 94.7% and 22.2%, respectively. Cystoscopy remains the most widely used technique for the diagnosis of bladder cancer. The combined use of CT, TCUS and cytology detected 72% of cystoscopically proven tumors. Among the three, TCUS findings exhibited the strongest correlation with cystoscopy findings.