Prognostic significance of DNA ploidy in Ta/Tl bladder cancer: A southwest oncology group study

While 80% of transitional cell carcinomas (TCC) present as Ta Tl lesions, they account for only 15% of deaths caused by TCC. We have evaluated the ability of DNA ploidy analysis to predict outcome in 228 patients with Ta Tl TCC. All patients were judged to be at increased risk for tumor recurrence due to having two occurrences of Stage TI tumor within 56 weeks, or three or more tumors presenting simultaneously within 16 weeks of registration. Concurrent carcinoma in situ was acceptable. All patients were treated with either bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) immunotherapy or mitomycin-C (MMC) intravesical chemotherapy. Patients with nondiploid tumors had higher hazard rates for both tumor progression and death (p = 0.007 and p = 0.016, respectively); however, the prognostic information of DNA ploidy was not additive to tumor grade.