Adjuvant chemotherapy is associated with decreased mortality after radical cystectomy for locally advanced bladder cancer

Abstract

Purpose: We sought to evaluate the association of adjuvant chemotherapy with the risk of subsequent mortality among patients with locally advanced urothelial carcinoma (UC) of the bladder undergoing radical cystectomy (RC).

Methods: We identified 675 patients who underwent RC for pT2-4 and/or N+ UC between 1980 and 2005. Adjuvant chemotherapy was defined as treatment within 90 days of RC. Survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared according to receipt of adjuvant chemotherapy with the log-rank test. Multivariate models were used to analyze the impact of adjuvant chemotherapy on disease progression and survival.

Results: A total of 80 (12 %) patients received adjuvant chemotherapy. Median age was 69 years [interquartile range (IQR) 63, 76]. Median follow-up was 11 years (IQR 8, 16). Patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy were more likely to have pT3-4 tumors (71 vs. 61 %; p < 0.001) and pN+ (85 vs. 19 %; p < 0.001). The 5-year cancer-specific survival was 46 % in those receiving adjuvant chemotherapy and 51 % in those that did not (p = 0.63). The 5-year overall survival was 39 % in those receiving adjuvant chemotherapy and 38 % in those that did not (p = 0.24). When controlling for age, sex, stage, and performance status, adjuvant chemotherapy was associated with a 29 % decrease in the risk of bladder cancer death (HR 0.71, p = 0.06) and a 39 % decrease in the risk of all-cause mortality (HR 0.61, p = 0.002).

Conclusions: After controlling patient and tumor features, adjuvant chemotherapy was associated with a trend toward reduction in cancer-specific mortality and a statistically significant reduction in all-cause mortality.