The role of blue light cystoscopy and additional operative evaluations during first surveillance after induction therapy for high-risk NMIBC.

Background: During surveillance of high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (HR-NMIBC), occult disease can be missed by standard cystoscopy.

Objective: To determine the utility of enhanced restaging procedures.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 297 patients with HR-NMIBC who underwent enhanced restaging procedures during the first surveillance following induction intravesical therapy between 2010-2021. Patients were stratified by number of induction treatments with unique agents (161, 63, and 73 patients with 1, 2, and 3+ treatments) and analyzed using exact logistic regression models. Enhanced restaging procedures included standard cystoscopy (white-light cystoscopy with bladder wash cytology) plus additional components including blue-light cystoscopy, mapping bladder biopsies, retrograde pyelograms, upper tract cytologies, and prostatic urethral biopsies.

Results: When standard cystoscopy was negative, blue light cystoscopy detected occult bladder cancer in 6.0%, 7.4%, and 19% of patients in the 1, 2, and 3+ treatment groups. History of CIS was associated with increased detection with blue light (p = 0.03). Extravesical (upper tract or prostatic urethral) cancer was detected by additional restaging components in 0.6%, 1.7%, and 15% of patients with 1, 2, and 3+ intravesical treatments. On multivariable analysis, receipt of 3+ intravesical inductions increased the odds of having at least one additional restaging component identify cancer (HR 3.76; p < .01).

Conclusions: Blue light cystoscopy improves surveillance of HR-NMIBC, particularly in those with CIS. Additional restaging procedures improved detection of extravesical disease in patients with heavier pre-treatment history. Risk-adapted utilization of enhanced restaging procedures requires further study.