There is a new promising technique for detecting bladder tumors (both with and without contrast material) that will help patients avoid an invasive test. This new technique called MDCT urography have been studied by the research team at the University of Michigan Health System.

Normally, bladder cancer is detected by cytoscopy, an uncomfortable invasive procedure where an instrument is inserted into the urethra to sample or see inside the bladder. The UMHS researchers were able to identify 87 of the 92 bladder tumors on MDCT, regardless of whether the portion of the bladder was opacified with contrast material or not.

This study was presented in full at the American Roentgen Ray Society Annual Meeting in Vancouver, BC on May 1, 2006.

Read more at ARRS.