Is faecal haemoglobin concentration related to severity of colorectal neoplasia?
f-Hb is related to severity of colorectal neoplastic disease. This has ramifications for the selection of the appropriate cut-off concentration adopted for bowel screening programmes.
The analysis of this review suggests that there is an overall survival benefit with combined preoperative radiotherapy plus radical surgery compared with radical radiotherapy plus salvage cystectomy in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. However, it must be considered that only three trials were included for analysis, the patient numbers were small and that many patients did not receive the treatment they were randomised to. It must also be noted that many improvements in radiotherapy and surgery have taken place since the initiation of these trials; therefore, the data may not be readily extrapolated to modern practice. Ideally, a new trial comparing modern bladder-sparing therapy with the latest surgical approach to this disease is required.