[Radical cystectomy in the treatment of bladder cancer always in due time?].

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to examine how the survival rates for patients with muscle-invasive bladder carcinoma are influenced by the tumor stage at initial presentation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study examined the clinical course of 452 patients who underwent radical cystectomy for bladder carcinoma from 1992 to 2004. The patients were divided into three groups according to the histological results of the initial and final transurethral tumor resection (TURB). In group 1 (n=114) patients who presented with a superficial bladder carcinoma which had a high likelihood of progressing underwent radical cystectomy. Group 2 included (n=92) patients who displayed a superficial tumor stage when they first presented and developed progressive muscle-invasive bladder carcinoma under conservative treatment. Group 3 (n=246) comprised patients who were already at the muscle-invasive tumor stage in the course of primary TURB. The histopathological characteristics of all transurethral tumor resections and radical cystectomy were recorded. Progression-free survival rates and overall survival rates in the three groups were then compared.
RESULTS: The average patient age at cystectomy was 64.3 (35-80) years, and the average follow-up period was 49 months. Progression-free survival and overall survival of all 452 patients were 56.1 and 53.6%, respectively, after 5 years. The best outcome was a progression-free 5-year survival rate of 78.4% with organ-confined, lymph node-negative tumors (n=213). This result was statistically significant (p<0.01) compared with the progression-free 5-year survival rate of 42.3% for non-organ-confined, lymph node-negative tumors (n=112). Lymph node-positive patients (n=127) achieved a progression-free 5-year survival rate of 29.0% regardless of the tumor infiltration. Group 1 patients achieved a progression-free survival rate of 71.3% and an overall survival rate of 69.1% after 5 years. Group 2 patients achieved a progression-free survival rate of 52.9% and an overall survival rate of 51.4% after 5 years. Group 3 patients achieved a progression-free survival and overall survival of 50.2% and 47.1%, respectively, after 5 years. There was no significant difference between groups 2 and 3 with regard to their progression-free or overall survival rates (p>0.45). However, both groups displayed significantly poorer progression-free and overall survival rates compared with group 1 (p<0.01).
CONCLUSION: Our results show that patients with superficial bladder carcinoma with tumor progression to muscle invasion do not have a better prognosis after radical cystectomy than patients presenting initially with muscle-invasive bladder carcinoma. Survival rates in this group can only be improved by singling out patients on the basis of risk factors at an earlier stage and carrying out cystectomy. Due to these results we must expect that waiting for a muscle invasion in patients with superficial bladder carcinoma with a high risk profile results in a significant impairment of prognosis.