Prognostic factors of invasive bladder cancer

Kim, Woo Kun; Park, Young Hwan; Lee, Kyoo Hyung; Lee, Jung Shin; Park, Tae Han; Ahn, Han Jong; Hong, Jun Hyuk; Kim, Choung Soo

Abstract

Transitional cell carcinoma(TCC) of the bladder is confined to mucosa or submucosa on initial presentation. However, high grade superficial tumors tend to recur and progress to muscle invasive or metastatic diseases. Regardless of radical cystectomy in invasive bladder cancer, a poor prognosis was noted due to local recurrence and distant metastasis in recent studies. In this study, the clinical and pathological factors affecting survival of patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer were analyzed.
METHODS
A total of 105 patients with histopathologically verified muscle invasive bladder cancer who were admitted to Asan Medical Center between August 1989 and August 1998 were reviewed retrospectively. The clinical manifestations, laboratory findings, and histopathological findings at initial diagnosis were evaluated. Overall survival, disease free survival, and disease specific survival according to many prognostic factors were also analyzed.
RESULTS
The factors affecting overall survival of muscle invasive bladder cancer were age, sex, TNM stage, performance status, tumor size, invasion of deep bladder muscle, tumor grade, lymphovascular invasion, and complete resection of tumors. In patients with completely resected bladder cancer by radical cystectomy, tumor size, deep bladder muscle invasion, stage, and lymph node involvement were significant prognostic factors. In patients who had either incomplete resection of bladder cancer or in whom no operation was performed, the survival rate was lower in cases with lymph node involvement or hemoglobin level of less than 10 g/dl.
CONCLUSION
After radical cystectomy, the recurrence rate appeared to be higher in solid tumors with deep bladder muscle invasion and lymphovascular invasion on cystoscopic findings. Overall survival was higher in patients with lower tumor stage, no lymph node involvement, and completely resected bladder cancer. Age and sex had no significant correlation with overall survival. No apparent survival advantage was noted in those patients who received post-operative chemotherapy. However, prospective randomized controlled studies are necessary to evaluate the benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy in muscle invasive bladder cancer.