En-bloc resection of bladder tumors (ERBT) for pathological staging: the value of lateral margins analysis

Aim In endoscopic resection of colorectal tumours, the pathological assessment of the lateral margins is a strong predictor of tumor recurrence after resection. The aims of the current study are to evaluate the value of the peritumoral margins assessment in ERBT on tumor recurrence. Methods We retrospectively analysed the data of 50 consecutive patients with NMIBC and treated by ERBT between January and December 2017. Results The lateral margins showed dysplasia in 16 patients and malignancy in 3 patients. Local recurrence occurred in 14 (28%) patients. It was noted that 57% of patients with recurrence showed some degree of dysplasia or malignancy in the lateral margin; however, on multivariate logistic regression lateral margins lesions were not significantly associated with recurrence (OR 2.175, 95% CI 0.430 - 10.996, p=0.35). Conclusions ERBT may improve the pathological report of bladder tumor. There was a trend toward increased rate of recurrence in patients with dysplasia or malignancy in their lateral margins; however, this was not statistically significant on multivariate analysis. Further studies with larger sample sizes are required to assess the value of lateral margin analysis.