728 A Systematic Review of The Efficacy and Safety of Outpatient Bladder Tumour Ablation. (12th October 2021) - Malde, S
Abstract: Introduction: The management of recurrent non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) typically requires repeated transurethral resections under general anaesthesia. This is costly and results in poor health-related quality-of-life for patients. Outpatient-based laser ablation and diathermy to recurrent tumours could reduce morbidity and cost of managing NMIBC. This systematic review evaluates the safety and efficacy of outpatient-based diathermy or laser ablation for recurrent NMIBC. Method: The EMBASE, MEDLINE and Cochrane Library were searched until June 2020. All studies evaluating the use of outpatient diathermy or laser ablation for NMIBC were included. The quality of evidence and risk of bias were assessed using the GRADE and ROBINS-I tools, respectively. Results: From 1328 studies identified, 17 studies (1584 patients) were included. Overall, the majority of tumours (80%) were low-grade (G1 and G2). Laser ablation and diathermy resulted in a mean recurrence rate of 47% and 40% at 20-31 months follow-up, respectively, with a mean progression rate of 3-11%. Both procedures were well-tolerated with low pain scores (mean score of 1) and low periprocedural complication rates. However, the overall quality of evidence of low. Conclusions: This review demonstrates that both procedures have good short-term efficacy in patients with low-grade NMIBC. The procedures are well-tolerated with low complication rates and importantly, reduce the need for intervention under general anaesthesia. These findings can aid patient counselling regarding less invasive treatment options, avoiding the morbidity of transurethral resection. Future randomised studies with standardised risk stratification and outcome measures are required to add to the quality of evidence.