Blue light cystoscopy (bladder scope)

Cystoscopy is a procedure that doctors use to diagnose and surgically remove bladder cancer cells. It involves inserting a thin, tube-like instrument called a cystoscope into the bladder. Traditional cystoscopes have a white light and video camera attached to them.

What is blue light cystoscopy?

Blue Light Cystoscopy (BLC^™) with Cysview^® is an FDA-approved procedure that finds bladder cancer tumors. It uses both ultraviolet (UV) and white light, as well as an imaging dye called Cysview (hexaminolevulinate HCl). The Cysview makes cancer cells glow bright pink under UV light while healthy tissues remain blue.

About an hour before the procedure, we inject your bladder with a small amount of Cysview. The cancer cells absorb Cysview, which stains them so they “glow.”

During the procedure, we:

1. Examine the bladder with the standard white light to find easier-to-see tumors
2. Switch to the UV light to see if any other areas are glowing pink, which would show any tumors that may have gone undetected
3. Remove and analyze the cancer under a microscope (biopsy)

Is blue light cystoscopy safe?

Research has shown that blue light cystoscopy is generally safe. Our bladder cancer surgeons can help you decide if it’s right for you.

Blue light cystoscopy may be right for you if:

• You need a cystoscopy
• Your doctor needs to check for bladder cancer recurrence after a cancer treatment that caused inflammation, such as chemotherapy
• Your doctor needs more information to determine your treatment plan
• Other tests and symptoms point to bladder cancer, but standard cystoscopy shows nothing

Blue light cystoscopy is very effective. Our specialists use it to diagnose and treat non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.

Non-muscle invasive (superficial) bladder cancer has not spread beyond the bladder’s inner lining. It accounts for about 70 percent of all bladder cancer diagnoses.

Blue Light Cystoscopy with Cysview can help doctors:

• Locate smaller, hard-to-find or flat tumors that standard cystoscopy may miss
• Remove bladder cancers during the same procedure doctors find them
• Spare healthy tissue when removing bladder cancer tumors, which reduces the chance you’ll need a total cystectomy (surgery to remove the bladder and any lymph nodes or nearby organs)
• Prevent cancer recurrence (return) since they can more accurately target cancer cells
• More quickly identify cancers after other treatments that cause inflammation (inflammation can make it hard to see cancer under white light)

An accurate and timely bladder cancer diagnosis is the first step to successful treatment. At Penn Medicine, our patients benefit from Blue Light Cystoscopy with Cysview. We are among the few offering this advance in the southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey regions.