Editorial Comment

Abstract

The report by Byler et al 1 Byler T.K. Reeder J. Nsouli I. Incidental computed tomographic bladder wall abnormalities: harbinger or herring?. Urol. 2015; 85: 288-291 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (3) Google Scholar on the incidence of transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder in patients with incidental radiologic finding of bladder wall thickening on computerized tomography (CT) scan in the absence of hematuria and gross or microscopic or positive urine cytology is significant and timely. The results are sobering. More than 15% of these patients have bladder cancer, and nearly 9% have high-grade or muscle invasive cancer. Worth noting that in none of the study patients with radiologic finding of focal thickening in the bladder (n = 15) had any type of bladder cancer. On the other hand, patients with diffuse thickening of the bladder wall or intraluminal mass had 31.5% (6 of 19) incidence of bladder cancer, and of these, 15.7% (3 of 19) were high-grade or muscle-invasive cancers. Incidental Computed Tomographic Bladder Wall Abnormalities: Harbinger or Herring?UrologyVol. 85Issue 2PreviewTo evaluate the outcomes of incidental radiographically identified bladder wall abnormalities in the absence of other urologic indications for evaluation. Full-Text PDF ReplyUrologyVol. 85Issue 2PreviewWe appreciate the interest and the comments regarding our work. With widespread use of imaging, incidental findings and evaluation of these findings has become more common in numerous disciplines. This series seeks to give evidence to the workup involved for incidental thickened bladder wall after exclusion of established “high-risk” patients. These high-risk patients include those with hematuria, bladder cancer, or previous radiation. Our survey of patients yielded unexpected results. Our initial thoughts were that the elimination of cystoscopy from this evaluation could save time, morbidity, and money. Full-Text PDF