Objective: The idea is to determine some markers in a well documented group of patients with pT1 TCC of the bladder i.e.:

• pT1, TCC, mulitple or solitary, primary or recurrent, +/- CIS (?)

•  patients should have minimally 3 years of follow and preferably be treated in a trial (guarantee for follow-up)

• all additional therapies are allowed, including none (control group)

•  tissue is still available (paraffin or frozen) for marker determination

• marker determination should be possible in your department (according to clear guidelines that will be provided by the group), or you should be willing to send tissue to a center that can do the marker study

• possible markers: p53 IHC, RB, p21, angiogenesis and pathology review (pT1a versus pT1b).

Current status: 24 possible participants were mailed. Half of them replied, representing 8 centres. All were interested, with an estimated total of 1,000 patients. However, 800 of these patients are told to come from the Fundacio Puigvert in Barcelona and of all patients only a few were entered in trials.

Surgical time schedule: We have to discuss again whether we will start this study with the available patient data, the main problem will be how to get the manpower to collect all the clinical data and to do the laboratory work. Since these patients are scattered over 4 continents it is impossible to appoint one person to do all this work.

Discussion: Please give feedback from all sites to enter more centers in this study and with possible solutions for the manpower problem. My e-mail address is: f.witjes@uro.azn.nl

With kindest regards,
Fred Witjes, Urologist,
Dept. of Urology, AZN St Radboud, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands