Simultaneous transurethral resection of bladder tumor and benign prostatic hyperplasia: Hazardous or a safe timesaver?

Purpose: We evaluated the effect of simultaneous transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (TURP) on recurrences at the bladder neck and prostatic urethra. Material and Methods: During the 10-year study period 51 patients fulfilled the entry criteria of past simultaneous TURBT and TURP, histologically confirmed transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder and benign prostatic hyperplasia, a preserved bladder and a minimal followup of 12 months. Their records were analyzed retrospectively. Patients were divided into 28 with single (group 1) and 23 with multiple (group 2) bladder tumors. Results: During the 12 to 120 months of followup (mean 37.3) the average tumor recurrence rate was 68.6%, that is 53.6% in group 1 and 86.9% in group 2. Recurrences appeared within an average of 14.9 months, that is within 18 (range 4 to 36) in group 1 and 13.5 (range 3 to 36) in group 2. Tumor recurrence was at the bladder neck and/or prostatic urethra in 11 of the 51 cases (21.5%). Average time to recurrence at the prostatic fossa was 23.8 months, that is 27 (range 13 to 46) in group 1 and 21.6 (range 4 to 60) in group 2. Only 1 patient had a single recurrence in the prostatic fossa, while the others also had synchronous and metachronous recurrences at other bladder sites. Tumor progression to invasiveness was diagnosed in 3 of the 51 patients (5.9%). Conclusions: Our data indicate that simultaneous TURBT and TURP do not negatively affect tumor recurrence at the bladder neck and prostatic urethra.