Response to Definite Radiotherapy in Patients with Invasive Bladder Carcinoma Evaluated by Contrast-Enhanced Computed Tomography of the Primary Tumor

Definite radiotherapy has been used for many years in the treatment of bladder carcinomas and retains an important place in the management of bladder cancer (Eschwege et al. 1989). Complete response to irradiation as evaluated clinically 3-4 months after treatment is an indicator for beneficial long-term survival (Jacobsen et al. 1989). However, a major problem after definite radiotherapy is the inaccuracy of clinical evaluation of the primary tumor, reported to entail an error as high as 60% (Osborne et al. 1982). Computed tomography (CT) has been used in evaluation of treatment response of the primary tumor in urinary bladder carcinomas after definite radiotherapy (Husband 1990; Yu et al. 1979). Radiotherapy produces bladder wall thickening, reduction in bladder capacity, and generalized increase in density of the perivesical fat (Husband 1990). These findings make interpretation of postradiotherapy CT more difficult than in the untreated patient.