15-year survival rates after transurethral resection and radiochemotherapy or radiation in bladder cancer treatment.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate 15-year experience with patients treated with transurethral resection (TUR) of a bladder tumor (TURBT) followed by radiochemotherapy (RCT) or radiation (RT) and to describe the association of different parameters with clinical outcome. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Bladder cancer patients (473) who underwent TURBT and RCT or RT with curative intent between 1982 and 2007 in our clinic were evaluated. The clinical course, operative and pathological characteristics and the long-term clinical outcome were assessed.
RESULTS: Complete remission (CR) was achieved in 70.4% of the patients. The 5-, 10- and 15-year overall survival rates were 49%, 30% and 19%, respectively. Long-term results were significantly affected by pT stage, lymphatic vessel invasion, residual tumor status, lymph node metastasis, kind of therapy (RCT vs. RT), and the response as confirmed by restaging TUR after RCT/RT.
CONCLUSION: Organ-preservation therapy in patients with bladder cancer is a valid option compared to radical cystectomy in selected patients, ideally with early-stage bladder cancer, in whom a complete transurethral resection of the tumor can be accomplished and radiochemotherapy is superior to radiation for favorable long-term outcome.