The efficacy and safety of thulium laser resection of bladder tumor versus standard transurethral resection in patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Purpose: This study was to analyze the efficacy and safety of thulium laser resection of bladder tumor (Tm-TURBT) versus TURBT for patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Materials and Methods: Randomized controlled trial data were retrieved using the MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library. We also searched Chinese databases including Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang data and VIP data. Results: A total of sixteen articles including 1662 participants were enrolled into our meta-analysis. We found no significant difference in terms of operation time, urethral stricture, 1-year recurrence rate, overall 1-year recurrence rate and overall 3-year recurrence rate between the two groups. Less intraoperative blood loss and a lower incidence of obturator nerve reflex (ONR), bladder perforation and bladder irritation were identified in Tm-TURBT group than in TURBT group in our analysis. The analysis also demonstrated faster postoperative recovery in terms of the catheterization, bladder irrigation and hospitalization time in Tm-TURBT group. The subgroup analysis was conducted based on different postoperative chemotherapy (epirubicin and non-epirubicin) concerning recurrence rate whereas no significant difference was noted. Conclusion: Tm-TURBT is an efficient and safe treatment for NMIBC and it could be an alternative choice for TURBT. Given that some limitations are clearly identified, more large-scale and well-designed RCTs are needed to confirm our findings.