Evaluation of superficial bladder transitional-cell carcinoma by optical coherence tomography.

Background and Purpose: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a new modality that allows noninvasive examination of the internal structure of biological tissue in vivo with a spatial resolution of 10 to 15 µm. This study evaluated the clinical application of OCT to determine epithelial and subepithelial anatomic structure and invasiveness of bladder epithelial lesions. Materials and Methods: The OCT examination was performed with a 980-nm 10 mW superluminescent diode using a 2.7-mm-diameter optical fiber positioned cystoscopically. A total of 261 scans of 1.5 seconds' duration, which generated 200 × 200-pixel images, were performed on 87 areas in 24 patients at high risk of having transitional-cell carcinoma (TCC). Lesions, visually suspect, and normal areas were photographed, scanned, and biopsied. The scans were evaluated independently before comparison with histopathology findings. Results: Of the 87 areas, 29 of 36 visually suspect areas and 35 of 35 normal areas, were correctly diagnosed with OCT. Of...