Journal List > J Korean Soc Radiol > v.79(1) > 1098289

Nam, Kim, Kim, Lee, and Cho: Diagnostic Strategy of CT Urography as a Prior Examination in the Detection of Bladder Cancer

Abstract

Purpose:

To prospectively assess the diagnostic potential of computed tomography urography (CTU) as a prior examination in the detection of bladder cancer.

Materials and Methods:

A total of 3280 CTU examinations were assessed in 3050 consecutive patients. Patients who were over 35 years of age, with gross hematuria, persistent microhematuria, or a history of urothelial tumor, were included in our study. Our study investigated the diagnostic capability of CTU over the course of two prior examinations. After the first examination, patients with a definite lesion observed by CTU were referred directly for rigid cystoscopy (RC) and patients with negative or probable lesion were referred for flexible cystoscopy (FC). After the second examination, patients with a definite lesion observed by CTU were referred directly for RC, patients with probable lesion were referred for FC, and patients with negative lesion were referred for clinical follow-up. Performance characteristics for the two prior examinations were determined by using pathologic findings or clinical follow-up as the reference standard.

Results:

The overall sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for detecting bladder cancer were 95.2%, 95.4%, 95.4%, 69.1%, and 99.2%, respectively, for the first prior examination, and 93.4%, 93.3%, 93.3%, 61.1%, and 98.4%, respectively, for the second prior examination.

Conclusion:

CTU as a prior examination is accurate for the early detection of bladder cancer. Notably, when used as a second prior examination, CTU could help to avoid the unnecessary use of FC in patients with negative lesions.

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ABCFig. 1
A 51-year-old woman who had adherent clot in the bladder wall. A, B. A contrast enhanced CT urography on nephrography (A) and pyelography (B) phases show a 20 mm sized probable lesion (arrows) along the anterior wall. C. Corresponding flexible cystoscopy reveals adherent blood clot.
jksr-79-33f1.tif
ABCFig. 2
A 75-year-old man who had bladder cancer (Grade 1 and stage T2a). A, B. A contrast enhanced CT urography on nephrography (A) and pyelography (B) phases show a 10 mm sized definite lesion (arrows) near the left basal wall. C. Corresponding rigid cystoscopy and biopsy reveals bladder cancer.
jksr-79-33f2.tif
Table 1.
Patients Characteristics
Indication First Prior Examination (n = 1440) Second Prior Examination (n = 1610)
Over 35 years gross hematuria
  Patients/CT (number) 796/864 869/895
  Gender (male/female) 532/264 591/278
  Mean age (years, range) 68 (38–84) 63 (41–83)
Persistent microhematuria
  Patients/CT (number) 501/541 613/629
  Gender (male/female) 318/183 350/263
  Mean age (years, range) 55 (41–79) 58 (39–80)
History of urothelial tumor
  Patients/CT (number) 143/182 128/169
  Gender (male/female) 91/52 85/43
  Mean age (years, range) 62 (38–88) 58 (43–85)

p-values for every parameter between the two groups were less than 0.05.

Table 2.
Prevalence of Bladder Cancer and CT Urography Use Categorized by Examination Indication
Indication First Prior Examination Second Prior Examination
CT Urography (n) Bladder Cancer (n, %) CT Urography (n) Bladder Cancer (n, %)
Over 35 years grosshematuria 864 78 (9) 895 72 (8)
Persistent microhematuria 541 6 (1) 629 13 (2)
History of urothelial tumor 182 64 (35) 169 68 (40)
Total 1587 148 (9) 1693 153 (9)
Table 3.
Prevalence of Bladder Cancer and CT Urography Use Categorized by Patients’ Age
Age First Prior Examination Second Prior Examination
CT Urography (n) Bladder Cancer (n, %) CT Urography (n) Bladder Cancer (n, %)
Below 40 96 2 (2) 80 1 (1)
41–50 125 5 (4) 198 3 (1)
51–60 356 29 (8) 475 35 (7)
61–70 428 48 (11) 398 44 (11)
Over 70 582 64 (10) 542 70 (12)
Total 1587 148 (9) 1693 153 (9)
Table 4.
Performance Characteristics of CT Urography as a First Prior Examination and a Second Prior Examination for Detecting Bladder Cancer Categorized by Examination Indication
Indication Sensitivity Specificity Accuracy PPV NPV
First prior examination (%)
  All 95.2 (141/148) 95.4 (1374/1439) 95.4 (1515/1587) 69.1 (141/204) 99.2 (1374/1384)
  Over 35 years gross hematuria 97.4 (76/78) 95.8 (753/786) 95.9 (829/864) 70.3 (76/108) 99.6 (753/756)
  Persistent microhematuria 66.6 (4/6) 96.6 (517/535) 96.3 (521/541) 19.0 (4/21) 99.7 (517/519)
  History of urothelial tumor 95.3 (61/64) 88.1 (104/118) 90.6 (165/182) 81.3 (61/75) 95.4 (104/109)
Second prior examination (%)
  All 93.4 (143/153) 93.3 (1437/1540) 93.3 (1580/1693) 61.1 (143/234) 98.4 (1437/1459)
  Over 35 years gross hematuria 96.0 (72/75) 93.5 (767/820) 93.7 (839/895) 62.6 (72/115) 98.3 (767/780)
  Persistent microhematuria 60.0 (6/10) 94.5 (590/619) 94.7 (596/629) 17.1 (6/35) 99.3 (590/594)
  History of urothelial tumor 95.5 (65/68) 84.1 (80/101) 85.7 (145/169) 77.3 (65/84) 94.1 (80/85)

NPV = negative predictive value, PPV = positive predictive value

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