Radical cystectomy for urothelial carcinoma of the bladder without neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy: long-term results in 1100 patients.

Background: The optimal treatment strategy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (BCa) remains controversial.

Objective: Better define the long-term outcomes of radical cystectomy (RC) alone for BCa and determine the impact of pathologic downstaging after transurethral resection in a large and homogeneous single-center series.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A cohort of 1100 patients undergoing RC with pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) without neoadjuvant therapy for urothelial carcinoma of the bladder between January 1, 1986, and December 2009 was evaluated. Patients with other than metastases to the pelvic lymph nodes were excluded. Median age was 65 yr. Clinical course, pathologic characteristics, and long-term outcomes were evaluated. Follow-up was obtained until December 2009 with a median of 38 mo and a completeness of 96.5%.

Intervention: RC with PLND; urinary diversion with ileal neobladder whenever possible.

Measurements: Primary end points were disease-specific survival (DSS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and overall survival (OS) according to the tumor stage of the RC specimen versus the maximum tumor stage. The log-rank test was used to compare subgroups.

Results And Limitations: The 30-d (90-d) mortality rate was 3.2% (5.2%). The 10-yr OS, DSS, and RFS rates were 44.3%, 66.8%, and 65.5%, respectively. Based on the tumor stage of the RC specimen, the 10-yr DSS rate was pT0/a/is/1 pN0: 90.5%, pT2a/b pN0: 66.8%, pT3a/b pN0: 59.7%, pT4a/b pN0: 36.6%, and pTall pN+: 16.7%. Downstaging by transurethral resection of the prostate was observed in 382 patients. Patients with maximum tumor stage pT2a/b pN0 had distinctly better 10-yr DSS rates than those with pT2a/b pN0 in the RC specimen: pT2a pN0: 92.2% versus 73.8%; pT2b: 75.0% versus 62.0%. A total of 49% female and 80% male patients received an ileal neobladder.

Conclusions: This contemporary and homogeneous single-center series found acceptable OS, DFS, and RFS for patients undergoing RC. Pathologic downstaging had a significant impact on survival.