Prognostic factors in superficial bladder cancer

A retrospective analysis of 91 patients with superficial transitional cell carcinoma (stages T_a and T₁) is reported. In all of the patients transurethral resection was the treatment of choice. With the recurrence rate as the primary endpoint of interest it appeared that the number of tumours at presentation, invasion of the lamina propria, and histological grade were to be of prognostic importance. The frequency of tumour progression in our group was found to be 10 per cent. All of the patients who developed muscle invasion had lamina propria invasion at presentation.