Study Concludes That Cystoscopy Has Major Limitations in Predicting Bladder Cancer
In a recent study, researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center found that there are major limitations in using cystoscopy for predicting the presence of muscle-invasive bladder cancer in patients who are candidates for bladder removal. A cystoscopy is an endoscopic procedure that allows surgeons to examine the lining of the bladder to monitor, treat, or diagnose different conditions. “The idea of this study was if we took all of these patients and, in a standardized way, looked into their bladder with surgeons who have a lot of expertise, we thought we could show that we can predict quite well who has disease left inside the bladder and who doesn’t,” said Matthew R. Zibelman, MD, first author on the study and an assistant professor in the Department of Hematology/Oncology at Fox Chase. This is important since some 30% of bladders that are currently removed do not harbor residual cancer.