Feasibility Evaluation of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Positron Emission Tomography for Bladder Cancer Diagnosis and Staging

The purpose of this study is to to find out if the MRI and PET scans can truly stage patients with bladder cancer. Both scans use newer ways to find out if your disease has grown beyond the bladder. The radioactive tracer used for the PET scan is called C-11 Acetate. We want to see if PET scan will be able to take a picture of the inside of your body that is better than other scans such as the CT scan and MRI. Therefore, the findings of the PET scan will be compared with other imaging studies as well as the surgical findings.

Patients will be recruited through the outpatient clinics of the Departments of Urology and Medical Oncology of MSKCC.

• Bladder Cancer
• Transitional Cell Carcinoma

Inclusion Criteria:

• Thirty (30) patients will be enrolled in this pilot study.
• All patients will have a clinical or histologic diagnosis of bladder cancer with active disease identified within the bladder at the time of consent and imaging.
• Patients with primary resectable lesions, and localized or regionally extensive disease will be eligible with residual disease in the bladder at the time of imaging.
• All patients will have consented to treatment at MSKCC

Exclusion Criteria:

• Prior pelvic radiation for bladder cancer
• Non-transitional cell histologies
• Patients deemed not appropriate surgical candidates
• Patients that are pregnant or lactating
• Patients that cannot tolerate being in the PET or MRI scanner for the duration of the study. Patients deemed unable to receive a contrast enhance CT will remain eligible.
• Vulnerable patients (minors, mentally retarded, prisoners, etc.)