Full analysis of the prostatic urethra at the time of radical cystoprostatectomy for bladder cancer: impact on final disease stage.

Prostate involvement is a major prognostic element in urothelium carcinoma staging after radical cystoprostatectomy (RCP) for muscle invasive bladder cancer. While appropriate pTNM stage is necessary for adequate treatment, no standard procedure exists up to now for macroscopic sampling of the prostate in RCP in daily practice. We therefore propose a protocol where examination of the whole prostatic urethra (PU) is possible, without using whole mount sections. From 2008 to June 2009, RCP were sampled according to a macroscopic protocol permitting the whole length and the underlying stroma of PU to be visualized. Data were compared with our series or RCP from 2000-2007, when the PU was evaluated with a more simple protocol. One hundred and one specimens were examined between 2000-2007, 25 until June 2009. In the latter series, we found pT4 bladder cancer in 36% versus 21%, Cis in the PU in 28% versus 14%, and additional prostate cancer was seen in 44% compared with 13% (p = 0.0004) in the 2008-2009 group versus the 2000-2007 group, respectively. Our proposed protocol better detects prostate involvement by bladder cancer, therefore providing a better final stage of the patients. We propose a macroscopic protocol where the whole PU and the underlying stroma can be examined without the use of whole mount sections. Data are similar to those published in the recent literature, where whole mount sections were used. This protocol also permits better detection of concomitant prostate carcinomas.