RESUMO
【Objective】 To investigate the effects of preoperative ureteroscopy (URS) on the intravesical recurrence (IVR) in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) after radical nephroureterectomy (RNU). 【Methods】 The clinical data of 241 UTUC patients treated during May 2012 and Jan.2020 in the Second Hospital of Laozhou University were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into URS before RNU group (URS group) and non-URS before RNU group (non-URS group). The cumulative IVR rate, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) after RNU were compared, and the survival curve was drawn. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess risk factors affecting IVR. 【Results】 Of the 241 patients, 64 (26.6%) were included in the URS group and 177 (73.4%) in the non-URS group. In the URS group, 49 underwent biopsy and 15 did not. All patients were followed up for a median of 44 (3 to 122) months, with a median time to recurrence of 12 (3 to 56) months. IVR occurred in 18 patients (28.1%) in the URS group and 25 (14.1%) in the non-URS group. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the cumulative IVR rate was higher in the URS group than in the non-URS group (all P<0.05), regardless of whether patients had a history of bladder cancer (BC) or not, while PFS was lower in the URS group than in the non-URS group (P=0.007). Cox multivariate regression analysis showed that URS (P=0.031) and complicated renal pelvis tumor and ureteral tumor (P=0.004) were independent risk factors for IVR. 【Conclusion】 Preoperative URS increases the incidence of IVR in patients with UTUC, and routine preoperative use of URS is not recommended.