Efficacy of Hexaminolevulinate Photodynamic Diagnosis of Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer

Objective: This study evaluated the efficacy of hexaminolevulinate fluorescence cystoscopy as a diagnostic tool for bladder cancer. The study was a case series in the Department of Urology in Hippokratio General Hospital of Athens between October 2008 and May 2012. Methods: Fifty patients (43 males and 7 females) who were investigated for hematuria were included in the study. White light cystoscopy (WLC) was first performed in all patients and after was performed a fluorescence cystoscopy (BLC-blue light cystoscopy). Biopsies were collected from any suspicious area and resection of the tumors identified (TUR).Whenever no suspicious areas could be seen, a standard random mapping including 8 biopsies overall was completed. Results: Patients demographic data and clinical history are presented in Table 1. Two-hundred twenty specimens were extracted and bladder cancer was diagnosed in 137. There were 17 CIS lesions all diagnosed with BLC whereas only 11 with WLC. WLC correctly diagnosed 109/140 specimens and the positive and negative predictive values were 77.9% and 65% respectively. The sensitivity and specificity were 79.6% and 62.6% respectively. BLC diagnosed 125/169 specimens and the positive and negative predictive values were 73.9% and 76.5% respectively. The sensitivity of BLC was 91.2% and the specificity 46.9%. Conclusion: Hexaminolevulinate-guided cystoscopy is a valuable diagnostic method, with considerably improved accuracy and improvement in diagnosis of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer and especially CIS.