Abstract

Objective: Radical cystectomy is the gold standard in the treatment of invasive bladder cancer. In female patients, anterior exenteration with cystectomy is the routine treatment procedure. In this study, pathologic specimens of female patients who underwent radical cystectomy with anterior exenteration due to bladder cancer were evaluated to define the rate of genital organ involvement.

Materials and methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 16 female patients who underwent radical cystectomy between July 1996 and July 2008 with regard to pathological results for genital organ involvement and concomitant primary cancers of these organs.

Results: Transurethral resection of bladder tumor, showed that 4 patients had pT1 and 12 patients had pT2 tumors. Pathologic evaluation following radical cystectomy revealed that 1 patient had pT0, 3 patients had pT2, 9 patients had pT3, and 3 patients had pT4 tumors. Three patients (18.7%) had genital organ involvement. Statistical analysis showed that the most important variable for genital organ invasion was bladder neck involvement (p=0.003).

Conclusion: In women who are candidates for genital organ-sparing cystectomy, surgical intervention has to be individualized. Routine preoperative evaluations should include a thorough genital organ examination, imaging, and whenever needed, vaginal smear and biopsies.