title: The significance of random bladder biopsies in superficial bladder cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Today, there is no consensus about taking random bladder biopsies during transurethral resection of superficial bladder tumors for staging and to determine the urothelial abnormalities like dysplasia and carcinoma in situ. The aim of our study was to evaluate the results and indications of random bladder biopsies for primary superficial bladder cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Random bladder biopsies were taken from 84 patients with primary superficial bladder cancer after transurethral resection. 40 patients had Ta and 44 had T1 tumor. The random biopsies were taken from right and left bladder walls, anterior and posterior walls, dome, trigone and prostatic urethra. The incidence of urothelial abnormalities were evaluated according to the stage and grade of the tumor.
  
  
  RESULTS
  None of the patients had carcinoma in situ or dysplasia with Ta tumor. In T1 group, 4 patients (9.1%) had carcinoma in situ and 3 patients (6.8%) had dysplasia. There was a statistically significant difference with regard to urothelial abnormalities between groups Ta and T1. The same difference was also seen between low and high grade tumors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In our study, only 7/84 (8.3%) of patients with primary superficial bladder cancer had urothelial abnormalities like carcinoma in situ or dysplasia. All of these pathologies were seen in T1 tumors. According to our results, we believe that random biopsies are not useful in superficial bladder cancers to detect urothelial abnormalities and also do not help for the planning of further treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Ankara University, School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey. cgogus@tr.net
authors.forename: Cağatay
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Göğüş
authors.forename: Yaar
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bedük
authors.forename: Kadir
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Türkölmez
authors.forename: Orhan
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Göğüs
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001706:Biopsy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011897:Random Allocation; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000473:pathology*; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*