Objectives: To report our experience with the active surveillance policy in patients with recurrent low-risk bladder tumors.
Methods: The files of 52 patients who underwent active surveillance instead of immediate surgical resection were reviewed. Different variables concerning tumor growth rate were evaluated.
Results: A total of 75 surveillance periods were documented in 52 patients (mean age 75.6 years S.D. 10.45 years, 37 males and 14 females), Mean surveillance period length was 16.5 months (S.D. 16.1). All tumors resected after surveillance were found in stage Ta and in low-grade except one tumor which was high-grade; 70 active surveillance periods ended with tumor resection, and 5 patients were still under surveillance when the research ended; 27 surveillance periods (37.7%) ended because of the growth of additional tumors. Active surveillance therefore spared 27 surgeries. The rate of tumor growth during surveillance depended on the tumor's largest diameter at the beginning of surveillance. If initial tumor diameter was smaller than 5 mm (68 cases), the median tumor growth rate was 1.12 mm3/month (IRQ: 0-6.55). If the initial tumor diameter was ≥5 mm (7 cases), the median tumor growth rate was 137.14 mm3/month (IRQ: 2.21-1787.5, p < 0.05).
Conclusions: Small, recurrent papillary bladder tumors pose minimal risk to the patient. An active surveillance policy, without immediate resection of the tumor is safe, can spare surgeries and can be considered in patients presenting with small papillary recurrence.