Recurrence of non-muscle invasive bladder carcinoma after transurethral resection with hexaminolevulinate photodynamic diagnosis or regular cystoscopy.

Objectives: To compare the recurrence of non-muscle invasive bladder carcinoma (NMIBC) after transurethral resection employing cystoscopy with hexaminolevulinate-based photodynamic diagnosis (PDD) or with standard white light.

Patients and methods: We included patients with newly suspected NMIBC in this retrospective cohort study and compared those undergoing transurethral resection by white light cystoscopy (WLC) (2008-2010) and PDD (2010-2012). All patients were treated following established criteria for good quality resection. The primary outcome was the difference in the recurrence rate after 60 months' follow-up, but we also stratified recurrence by risk groups, as set by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer. The mean recurrence-free survival was compared between the cohorts. Odds ratios or hazard ratios are reported with their 95% confidence intervals.

Results: The WLC and PDD cohorts comprised 124 and 91 subjects, respectively. There were no significant differences in recurrence rates between the cohorts at 6 months (recurrence rate 9/123; 7.3%), 12 months (17/118; 14.4%) or 60 months (39/102; 38.2%), with odds ratios of 1.23 (CI 0.48-3.25), 1.32 (CI 0.67-2.62) and 1.12 (CI 0.70-1.79), in favour of WLC, respectively. Further analysis showed no significant effect of PDD on either recurrence by risk group or on mean recurrence-free survival (hazard ratio, 1.12 [CI 0.70-1.79]).

Conclusion: We found no relevant differences in the recurrence of NMIBC after the introduction of PDD with hexaminolevulinate compared to standard WLC when used for transurethral resection in our single institution.