Incidence and clinical characteristics of lower urinary tract symptoms as a presenting symptom for patients with newly diagnosed bladder cancer.

Purpose: The incidence of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) as the sole presenting symptom for bladder cancer has traditionally been reported to be low. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and clinical characteristics of newly diagnosed bladder cancer patients who presented with LUTS in the absence of gross or microscopic hematuria.

Materials And Methods: We queried our database of bladder cancer patients at the Atlanta Veteran's Affairs Medical Center (AVAMC) to identify patients who presented solely with LUTS and were subsequently diagnosed with bladder cancer.