Novel real-time optical imaging modalities for the detection of neoplastic lesions in urology: a systematic review.

Background: Current optical diagnostic techniques for malignancies are limited in their diagnostic accuracy and lack the ability to further characterise disease, leading to the rapidly increasing development of novel imaging methods within urology. This systematic review critically appraises the literature for novel imagining modalities, in the detection and staging of urological cancer and assesses their effectiveness via their utility and accuracy.

Methods: A systematic literature search utilising MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Library Database was conducted from 1970 to September 2018 by two independent reviewers.