Prediction of bladder tumor invasion with the mixed cell agglutination test.

The mixed cell agglutination test was used to investigate 30 patients with initially superficial (stage 0 to A) transitional cell bladder tumors who had been followed a minimum of 5 years, until cystectomy or until death in an effort to select those patients who would suffer invasive disease. All tumor-bearing tissue was coded and studied without knowledge of the blood type or clinical status of the patient. Of the 15 patients with a negative mixed cell agglutination test 9 (60%) suffered invasive disease. None of the patients with a positive mixed cell agglutination test had invasive disease. The ultimate outcome then was predicted correctly in 24 of 30 patients (80%) (p less than 0.001). When the mixed cell agglutination test is positive it is associated with a good prognosis, while the majority of patients with a negative test are destined to suffer invasive disease.