stage pT0 bladder carcinoma

Stage pT0 tumor is a condition in which there is no evidence of residual carcinoma in the cystectomy specimen after an initial cancer diagnosis in the biopsy or transurethral resection (TUR) specimens.

The incidence of stage pT0 bladder carcinoma is approximately 10%.

Unlike stage pT0 cancer of the prostate (so called ‘vanishing cancer phenomenon’), the clinical outcome among patients with stage pT0 bladder cancer is variable.

In the largest series of pT0 carcinomas (120 patients), the 5-year recurrence-free, cancer-specific, and overall survivals were 84, 88, and 84%, respectively.

Multivariate analysis showed that lymphovascular invasion and carcinoma-in situ in the TUR specimens were independent predictors of adverse clinical outcome.

The 5-year overall survival for patients with lymphovascular invasion was 70%, compared with 89% for those patients without lymphovascular invasion.

The incidence of lymph node metastasis among pT0 patients is 3 to 7%.

Link

 http://www.nature.com/modpathol/journal/v22/n2s/full/modpathol20091a.html