BTA test is superior to voided urine cytology in detecting malignant bladder tumours.

Abstract

Background and aims: In a prospective study, Bard BTA (bladder tumour antigen) test was compared to voided urine cytology (VUC) in detecting primary and recurrent bladder cancer (BC).

Materials and methods: 407 control cystoscopies, BTA test and VUC were performed on 150 patients, of which 96 (23.6%) recurrent tumours were found, and 43 patients with a new BC were noticed.

Results: BTA test was superior to VUC in detecting superficial Ta (23% vs. 3%, p < 0.001) and grade 1 (16% vs. 0%, p < 0.001) as well as grade 2 (35% vs. 11%, p < 0.01) tumours. In Tis and T2-T4 tumours as well as in grade 3 tumours both tests performed similarly. The sensitivity of BTA test compared to VUC in detecting recurrent tumours was higher (24 % vs. 9%, p < 0.01), but VUC had more specificity than BTA test (99% vs. 80%, p < 0.001).

Conclusions: BTA test was superior to VUC in detecting BC and its recurrence. The simultaneous use of the BTA test and VUC did not add any information in detecting tumour growth in the bladder as compared to the BTA test alone.