Accuracy of lymphography in staging of prostatic and bladder carcinoma: 88 cases with aspirative cytological and postlymphadenectomy histological verification.

Lymphography was performed in 88 patients with prostatic (n = 51) or bladder (n = 37) carcinoma. The lymphographic findings were correlated to the cytological and histological staging obtained by means of transcutaneous fine-needle aspiration biopsy and/or pelvic lymphadenectomy performed after lymphography on the most frequently involved glands. The lymphographic diagnosis was confirmed in 90.7% of the patients. In 16 cases (18.1%) histology was not in accordance with the positive lymphogram and in 5 cases (5.6%) lymphography was false negative. The authors emphasize the high rate (35.5%) of normal-sized nodes with evident but minimal metastatic changes, cytohistologically verified. These are, in fact, metastatic lymphonodal lesions which escape ultrasonography and computed tomography.