Prognosis of bladder carcinoma in patients treated with cystectomy.

Prognostic criteria for bladder tumors are the stage and grade of the tumor in the present series of 82 patients, in which all patients received the same treatment. These criteria are related and the combined evaluation increases the prognostic accuracy for the disease. In addition, the diameter and not the number of bladder tumors on primary diagnosis is an important prognostic sign. A significant number of tumors at the first clinical evaluation were apparently understaged and undergraded and to a lesser degree overstaged and overgraded as compared with cystectomy specimen evaluations. Despite the total cystectomy, even the patients with superficial bladder lesions, a significant number died from the bladder tumor and 1/4 of the patients had metastases at post mortem examination. The 5 year overall survival with total cystectomy was 40% and for 10 years 15%. Other adjuvant forms of therapy pre- and post-operatively must be assessed.