title: Prognostic factors in a recent series of patients treated with radical cystectomy for bladder cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify the clinical and pathological prognostic factors in a homogeneous series of patients with bladder cancer who had undergone radical cystectomy in the late 1990s.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 156 patients who had undergone radical cystectomy and iliac-obturator lymphadenectomy for bladder carcinoma at our department between 1995 and 2001.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean follow-up was 39.71 +/- 26.2 months. The 5-year overall and cancer-specific survival rates were 47.2 and 54.7%, respectively. Upper urinary tract obstruction (p = 0.03), clinical stage of both the primary tumor (p = 0.0001) and loco-regional lymph nodes (p = 0.04), pathological stage (2002 TNM) of the primary tumor (p < 0.0001), pathological loco-regional lymph node involvement (p < 0.0001), and vascular embolization (p = 0.005) were significant on univariate analysis. Pathological lymph node involvement (p = 0.001) and both pathological (p = 0.022) and clinical stages of the primary tumor (p = 0.002) turned out to be independent predictors of cancer-specific survival.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pathological lymph node involvement, clinical and pathological stage of the primary tumor were the cancer-specific, survival-independent, predictors in our series. Our multivariate analysis data identified pT3-4 and pN+ patients as those with the worst prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, University of Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Giacomo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Novara
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ficarra
authors.forename: Najati
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Alrabi
authors.forename: Orietta
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Dalpiaz
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Martignoni
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Galfano
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cavalleri
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Artibani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002278:Carcinoma in Situ / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D015653:Cystectomy; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends; D013997:Time Factors; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery