Weight of the resected specimen after transurethral resection as a new predictive variable for recurrence of non-muscle-invasive bladder tumour.

Objective: To evaluate the role of the weight of the resected specimen after transurethral resection as a predictive factor for recurrence and progression of non-muscle-invasive bladder tumour (NMIBT).

Patients And Methods: The weight of the resected tumour was measured consecutively in 144 subjects who underwent transurethral resection of bladder tumours at our institution. The median (interquartile range [IQR]) follow-up was 58 (61.3) months. The probability of recurrence and progression at 1 and 5 years were calculated using the currently accepted variables. Thresholds for the specimen weight were determined according to percentiles and receiver-operating characteristic curves.

Results: The median (IQR) weight of the specimen was 6 (16) g. Multivariate analysis showed that the weight of the resected specimen was an independent predictive risk factor for recurrence at a threshold value of 6 g with a hazard ratio of 1.7 (95% confidence interval: 1.048-2.761) P = 0.03. Progression was not associated with the weight of the resected specimen.

Conclusions: The weight of the resected specimen is a new variable for predicting the risk of recurrence of NMIBT. Tumours weighing >6 g, according to the present data, have a 1.7-fold higher likelihood of recurrence than those tumours that weigh less.