Fluorescence-guided bladder tumour resection: impact on survival after radical cystectomy.

PURPOSE: To investigate whether photodynamic diagnosis (PDD)-guided bladder tumour resection (TUR-BT) is of prognostic value in patients undergoing subsequent radical cystectomy (RC) for bladder cancer (BC). METHODS: In 224 consecutive patients who underwent RC and bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy for BC between 2002 and 2010 (median follow-up 29 months [IQR 8-59]), we retrospectively investigated whether patients had previously undergone PDD-guided (hexaminolevulinate [HAL] vs. 5-aminolevulinate [ALA]) versus white light (WL)-TUR-BT. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to estimate recurrence-free survival (RFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS) using log-rank and Cox regression model for uni- and multivariable analysis. RESULTS: Of the 224 patients, 66 (29.5 %) underwent HAL-, 23 (10.3 %) ALA- and 135 (60.2 %) WL-TUR-BT before RC. The 3-year RFS/CSS/OS was 77.8/83.9/74.0 % for HAL-, 53.6/74.5/60.9 % for ALA- and 52.4/59.7/56.5 % for WL-TUR-BT (p = 0.002/0.023/0.037 for HAL vs. WL/ALA). PDD-TUR-BT was associated with a higher number of TUR-BTs before RC (p < 0.001) and re-resections (p = 0.015), a longer time between the first TUR-BT and RC (p = 0.044) and a lower rate of post-operative systemic chemotherapy (p = 0.001). In multivariable analysis, performance of HAL-TUR-BT, pathologic tumour and nodal stage as well as soft tissue surgical margin status were independent predictors for RFS, CSS and OS. CONCLUSIONS: This series indicates for the first time that HAL-guided TUR-BT is an independent predictor for improved survival after RC.

Comparative analysis of comorbidity and performance indices for prediction of oncological outcomes in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma who were treated with radical nephroureterectomy.

OBJECTIVE: Comorbidity and performance indices (CPIs) are useful tools to evaluate patient's risk of comorbidities and thus may guide clinical decision making regarding surgery or multimodal therapy approaches. Hence, the aim of the current study was to assess the predictive capacity of CPIs comprising the American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA)-score, the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI), the age-adjusted CCI (ACCI), and the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG-PS) in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) who were treated with radical nephroureterectomy (RNU). METHODS AND MATERIALS: A total of 242 patients with UTUC underwent RNU without neoadjuvant chemotherapy between 1992 and 2012 at 3 German academic centers. Patients were stratified according to the pre-RNU CPIs dichotomized as ASA 1/2 vs .≥ 3, CCI 0 to 2 vs. > 2, ACCI 0 to 5 vs. > 5, and ECOG-PS 0 to 1 vs. > 1. We assessed the associations of CPIs with clinicopathologic features, as well as the prognostic effect on recurrence-free survival, cancer-specific survival (CSS), overall survival, and cancer-independent mortality (CIM), using univariable and multivariable Cox regression analyses. RESULTS: Sixty-two patients (25.6%) had an ASA-score ≥ 3, 71 patients (29.3%) a CCI>2, 50 patients (20.7%) an ACCI > 5, and 122 (50.4%) patients an ECOG-PS > 1. The ASA-score (P = 0.001), CCI (P = 0.029), and the ECOG-PS (P < 0.001) were significantly associated with age. In addition, the ECOG-PS was associated with pelvicalyceal tumors (P = 0.012), and the CCI with preoperative hydronephrosis (P = 0.026). The median follow-up was 30 months. In Kaplan-Meier analyses, ACCI > 5 (P ≤ 0.025) and ECOG-PS > 1 (P ≤ 0.042) were associated with recurrence-free survival, CSS, and overall survival, and ASA-score ≥ 3 (P = 0.011) and ACCI > 5 (P = 0.006) with CIM. In multivariable analysis that adjusted for standard clinicopathologic parameters, an ECOG-PS > 1 was an independent predictor for CSS (hazard ratio = 1.89, P = 0.019), and an ASA-score ≥ 3 (hazard ratio = 1.86, P = 0.026) was a predictor for CIM. CONCLUSION: CPIs are easy assessable predictors for outcome in patients with UTUC who were treated with RNU. CPIs have carefully to be taken into account in patient counseling regarding operative decision making and multimodal treatment.