To be eligible for a partial cystectomy, the tumor must be just in the right place and just the right size. Tumors at the dome (top) of the bladder are the most amenable to partial cystectomy. Many patients without cancer develop outpouchings in their bladder called a diverticulum. These outpouchings have no muscle on them, but they still have the ability to develop tumors like the rest of the bladder. Patients with a tumor in a diverticulum are particularly good candidates for partial cystectomy because of the difficulty of removing the tumor with a TURBT.
Overall, however, only 5% to 10% of patients will have tumors that are appropriate for partial cystectomy. The presence of carcinoma in situ or multiple small tumors usually would make one ineligible for this procedure. This refers to those patients with transitional cell cancer, which is the vast majority of patients. Partial cystectomies are more often performed for other types of bladder cancer, especially in children with cancers involving the bladder.