Background: Management of T1 bladder cancer (BCa) is controversial. Objective: Evaluate the impact of substage on the clinical outcome of T1 BCa. Design, setting, and participants: The T1 diagnosis of 134 first-diagnosis BCa patients from two university hospitals was confirmed. For the T1 substage, we used a new system that discerns T1-microinvasive (T1m) and T1-extensive-invasive (T1e) tumors. We then determined the invasion of the muscularis mucosae-vascular plexus (MM-VP): T1a (invasion above the MM-VP), T1b (invasion in the MM-VP), or T1c (invasion beyond the MM-VP). If the MM-VP was not present at the invasion front, the case was assigned to T1a or T1c. All patients were initially managed conservatively (with bacillus Calmette-Guérin). Measurements: Multivariable analyses for progression and disease-specific survival (DSS). Results and limitations: Median follow-up was 6.4 yr (interquartile range: 3.3-9.2 yr). Progression to ≥T2 was observed in 40 patients (30%), and 19 patients (14%) died of BCa. The MM-VP was not present at the invasion front in 50 patients (37%). T1 substage was as follows: 40 T1m and 94 T1e; 81 T1a, 18 T1b, and 35 T1c. In multivariable analyses, substage (T1m/T1e) was significant for progression (p = 0.001) and DSS (p = 0.032), whereas substage according to T1a/T1b/T1c was not significant. Female gender (p = 0.006) and carcinoma in situ (p = 0.034) were also significant predictors of progression. The main limitation to the study is absence of a repeat transurethral resection. Conclusions: Substage according to the new system (T1m and T1e) was user-friendly, possible in 100% of cases, and very predictive of T1 BCa behavior. Future studies may ultimately lead to the incorporation of this new substaging system in the TNM classification system for urinary BCa.

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doi.org/10.1016/j.eururo.2011.10.026, hdl.handle.net/1765/63731
European Urology : Official Journal of the European Association of Urology
Department of Pathology

van Rhijn, B., van der Kwast, T., Alkhateeb, S., Fleshner, N., Leenders, G., Boström, P. J., … Zlotta, A. (2012). A new and highly prognostic system to discern T1 bladder cancer substage. European Urology : Official Journal of the European Association of Urology, 61(2), 378–384. doi:10.1016/j.eururo.2011.10.026