[Staging of bladder tumors by angiography, ultrasonography and computed tomography].

Accurate clinical staging of bladder tumors is of utmost importance for selecting the most suitable treatment measure for each clinical case. We evaluated the diagnostic efficacy of pelvic angiography, transabdominal ultrasonography, transurethral ultrasonography and computed tomography for estimation of the extent of bladder tumor infiltration. During the past 12 years, we experienced 232 bladder tumor cases. Among them, 30 patients were evaluated with pelvic angiography, 52 with transabdominal ultrasonography, 14 with transurethral ultrasonography and 84 with computed tomography. Pelvic angiography enabled correct diagnosis in 24 of the 30 patients (80%), transabdominal ultrasonography in 8 of the 52 patients (15%), transurethral ultrasonography in 7 of the 14 patients (50%) and computed tomography in 62 of the 84 patients (74%). Combined examination with transurethral ultrasonography and computed tomography seems to be the most reliable method for estimation of the extent of bladder tumor infiltration.