BACKGROUND:

There is a high rate of residual tumor reported in repeat resections performed in cases of bladder cancer. The real usefulness and effect of this practice are currently in doubt.

OBJECTIVE:

To describe the results of a second-look resection in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer in relation to the rates of re-staging and residual tumor.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

A retrospective, observational study was conducted on patients that underwent transurethral resection of the bladder due to non-muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder at the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, within the time frame of 1984 to 2017. Second-look residual tumor and re-staging rates were analyzed.

RESULTS:

Out of 556 medical records, the final analysis included 117 cases, of which only 43 patients (37.75%) underwent a second-look resection. Primary tumor diameter was larger in the study group (3 ± 2 vs 2.3 ± 1.5 cm, p=0.03). Residual tumor was found in 17 cases (39.5%), one of which (2.3%) presented with muscle-invasive disease. In the patients with residual tumor, there was an increase in stage in 2 cases (11.76%), and 3 cases (17.64%) had a change from low grade to high grade tumor.

CONCLUSIONS:

There is a high percentage of residual tumor in patients diagnosed with non-muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder that underwent initial transurethral resection of the bladder, as well as a considerable re-staging rate.

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