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Background. Although both nonfunctional paraganglioma of the bladder (NPB) and urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB) are subtypes of bladder tumors, they are entirely different entities with distinct tissue origins and anatomical locations. However, NPB is frequently misdiagnosed as UCB chiefly due to the similarities in their clinical characteristics and cystoscopic features. This study aimed to compare the differences in their clinical characteristics and cystoscopic features. Patients and Methods. Between April 2007 and September 2017, 14 patients with NPB (NPB group) were retrieved from 2 centers, and 42 patients with new-onset UCB (UCB group) were randomly retrieved. Demographic, symptomatic, imaging, and cystoscopic data of patients in both groups were collected and compared. Results. NPB group comprised 7 males and 7 females, with a mean age of 43.1 ± 13.6 years. Compared with the UCB group, patients in the NPB group were significantly younger (p<0.001), less likely to be male (p<0.05), and to present with hematuria (p<0.01). However, no significant difference in maximum tumor diameter was observed between the 2 groups (p=0.609). Compared with the UCB group, cystoscopically, patients in the NPB group were significantly more likely to present with hypervascularization but less likely to present with hemorrhage, necrosis, calcification, pedunculation, and multilesion (p<0.05). No patients with NPB were clinically diagnosed correctly before cystoscopy. Of the 5 patients who underwent both cystoscopy and biopsy, 4 were diagnosed with NPB, while 1 remained undiagnosed. Of the remaining 9 patients who underwent cystoscopy only, 5 were diagnosed with nonepithelial tumor, and 4 were misdiagnosed with UCB. Conclusions. Age, sex, and hematuria may provide clues to differentiating NPB from UCB. Differences in cystoscopic features between NPB and UCB are of high diagnostic value. Cystoscopic biopsy should be considered in the preoperative diagnosis of NPB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) remains the most widely used method in the surgical treatment of the non-muscle invasive bladder tumor (NMIBT). Despite its popularity, the laser technique has been widely used in urology as an alternative, via the application of transurethral laser enucleation of bladder tumor. The aim of the present study was to compare the efficacy and feasibility between transurethral laser enucleation and transurethral resection of bladder tumor. A systematic search of the following databases was conducted: PubMed, Wed of Science, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Google scholar, and Medline. The search included studies up to the 1st of January 2017. The outcomes of interest that were used in order to assess the two techniques included operation time, catheterization time, hospitalization time, obturator nerve reflex, bladder perforation, bladder irritation, 24-month-recurrence rate, and the postoperative adjuvant intravesical chemotherapy. A total of 13 trials with 2012 participants were included, of which 975 and 1037 underwent transurethral laser enucleation and transurethral resection of bladder tumor, respectively. No significant difference was noted in the operation time between the two groups, although significant differences were reported for the variables catheterization time, hospitalization time, obturator nerve reflex, bladder perforation, bladder irritation, and 24-month-recurrence rate. In the mitomycin and epirubicin subgroups, no significant differences were observed in the laser enucleation and TURBT methods with regard to the 24-month-recurrence rate. The laser enucleation was superior to TURBT with regard to the parameters obturator nerve reflex, bladder perforation, catheterization time, hospitalization time, and 24-month-recurrence rate. Moreover, laser enucleation can offer a more accurate result of the tumor's pathological stage and grade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]