Presentation, location and overall survival of pelvic recurrence after radical cystectomy for transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the presentation, location and overall survival of pelvic recurrence after radical cystectomy (RC) for transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the bladder.


METHODS
We reviewed a consecutive series of 130 patients who had a limited bilateral pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) and RC between 1987 and 2000, and who later developed pelvic recurrence. All patients were staged N0M0 before RC and no patient received neoadjuvant radio/chemotherapy. The boundaries of the limited PLND were the pelvic side-wall between the genitofemoral and obturator nerves, and the bifurcation of iliac vessels to the circumflex iliac vein. Pelvic recurrence was defined as a radiographic soft-tissue density of > or = 2 cm below the bifurcation of the aorta. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards analyses were used to determine if imaging or symptomatic presentation, age, pT stage, and pN status were predictive of overall survival.


RESULTS
The median (range) time from RC to pelvic recurrence was 7.3 (1.2-55.4) months. No patients had concomitant distant metastasis. Of the patients, 61.5% were diagnosed with pelvic recurrence because of symptoms, and 38.5% by surveillance computed tomography (CT). Of the 130 patients, 128 died, with a median survival from the time of pelvic recurrence of 4.9 (0.1-129.3) months. The median overall survival time for pelvic recurrence diagnosed with CT was 21.6 months, vs 10.6 months for symptomatic presentations (P < 0.001). In the uni- and multivariate models, type of presentation (CT vs symptomatic) and pT stage were predictors of overall survival, while age and pN status were not.


CONCLUSIONS
The prognosis of patients with pelvic recurrence after RC for TCC is poor even with subsequent therapy, emphasizing the need for optimum local control at the time of initial treatment.
Dhar
Nivedita Bhatta
NB
Section of Urologic Oncology, Glickman Urological Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA.
Jones
J Stephen
JS
Reuther
Alwyn M
AM
Dreicer
Robert
R
Campbell
Steven C
SC
Sanii
Kamrooz
K
Klein
Eric A
EA
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002295:Carcinoma, Transitional Cell / Q000601:surgery*; D015653:Cystectomy / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging / Q000379:methods / Q000401:mortality; D010386:Pelvic Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000556:secondary; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*