En bloc resection of bladder wall with tumor in treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer

Background. Bladder cancer is in the top ten most common onco-urological diseases. Its most common form - non-muscle invasive bladder cancer - is one of the most expensive for healthcare and requires many resources for diagnosis and treatment. Aim. To evaluate safety and effectiveness of en bloc transurethral resection (eTUBRT) of bladder wall with tumor compared to conventional transurethral resection (cTUBRT) in context of recurrence-free survival and perspectives of widespread implementation in onco-urological practice. Materials and methods. We have performed a search and analysis of Russian and international literature in the PubMed database on "en-bloc resection of bladder cancer" regarding information about recurrence-free survival in patients after eTURBT and cTURBT, intra- and perioperative complications, overall survival, disease progression, and different surgical techniques. References in the sources were also analyzed to identify additional potentially relevant studies. Results. The analysis of the data showed that eTURBT is safer in regards to intra- and postoperative complications, and it has better long-term oncological outcomes and quality of extracted histological material. Additionally, no significant differences in treatment outcomes with different instruments (monopolar, bipolar electric current, different laser equipment) were discovered. Conclusion. eTURBT has several advantages compared to cTURBT in treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer and is a potential alternative to cTURBT. However, further research is required to evaluate the place and capabilities of eTURBT in the arsenal of an onco-urologist.