Usefulness of narrow-band imaging in transurethral resection of bladder tumor: Early experience from a tertiary center in India

BACKGROUND: The current standard for diagnosis and treatment of urinary bladder cancer is transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) using white light guidance. Narrow band imaging (NBI) has emerged as a promising method for identifying additional bladder lesions. Various studies have been published to evaluate its sensitivity in identifying new lesions and its impact on decreasing recurrences. In this study, we evaluated our early experience using NBI in TURBTs. AIMS AND OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to determine the accuracy of NBI in identifying additional malignant lesions during TURBT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively collected data for all patients who underwent either TURBT or repeat TURBT with white light and NBI from November 2016 to July 2017 at Cancer Institute (WIA). The number of additional lesions identified using NBI was evaluated along with its correlation with the final histopathology. RESULTS: Forty patients were analysed of which 20 underwent TURBT and 20 underwent repeat TURBT. Of these, 36 patients had complete resection of tumour. Additional lesions were detected in 6 patients (14%) by NBI of which 2 (33%) were malignant histology. The additional lesions detected were carcinoma in situ and no patient was upstaged. CONCLUSION: The inclusion of NBI to conventional white light TURBT increases the sensitivity for identifying additional lesions. The limitation of NBI is high false positivity and its availability. Long term follow up studies with larger subset of patients are required to evaluate its role in decreasing recurrences and justification in routine clinical practice.