Primary Complete Transurethral Resection of Bladder Tumor using Photodynamic Diagnosis for High-risk Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer: Is a Restaging Photodynamic Transurethral Resection Really Necessary?

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the risk of residual tumor and tumor upstaging during a second resection after primary complete Transurethral Resection of Bladder Tumor (TURBT) using Photodynamic Diagnosis (PDD) for high-risk Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer (NMIBC). PATIENTS AND METHODS From January 2014 to March 2020, a single-institutional study was conducted including consecutive patients with high-risk NMIBC (T1 and/or cis and/or high grade) who underwent a restaging transurethral resection (reTUR) within 12 weeks following a primary complete resection. Each TURBT was performed using blue light after intravesical instillation of Hexaminolevulinate. The primary endpoint was detection of residual tumor at reTUR, proved with positive pathology report. RESULTS A total of 109 consecutive patients with high-risk NMIBC underwent reTUR after a primary complete blue light resection. Pathological evaluation of the surgical specimens of the primary TURBT revealed stage T1 and high-grade tumors in 69 (68.3%) and 108 (99%) patients, respectively, and concomitant CIS was found in 45 patients (41.3%). The median time to reTUR was 8 (6-10) weeks. Residual tumor was detected histopathologically in 64 of 109 patients (58.7%) at the second TURBT with PDD. In five of these patients (4.5%), initial T1 tumors were upstaged to T2 tumors. CONCLUSIONS We examined a contemporary series of patients undergoing reTUR with PDD as management of high-risk NMIBC proven at the first blue light resection. We reported a 54.2% risk of disease persistence and a 4.5% risk of understaging in T1 tumors. These findings support that reTUR is still necessary after initial complete TURBT with PDD. Further studies are needed to assess the long-term oncologic outcomes of reTUR with PDD.