title: Upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma: location is not correlated with prognosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify the impact of tumour location on the disease recurrence and survival of patients who were treated surgically for upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma (UUT-TCC).
  
  
  METHODS
  A single-centre series of 189 consecutive patients who were treated surgically for UUT-TCC between January 1999 and December 2009 was evaluated. Patients who had previously undergone radical cystectomy, preoperative chemotherapy or contralateral UUT-TCC were excluded. In all, 133 patients were available for evaluation. Tumour location was categorized as renal pelvis or ureter based on the location of the dominant tumour. Recurrence-free probabilities and cancer-specific survival were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 5-year recurrence-free and cancer-specific survival estimates for the cohort in the present study were 66% and 62%, respectively. The 5-year bladder-only recurrence-free probability was 76%. Using multivariate analysis, only pT classification (hazard ratio, HR, 2.46; P = 0.04) and demographic characteristics (HR, 2.86 for areas of Balkan endemic nephropathy, vs non-Balkan endemic nephropathy areas; 95% confidence interval, 1.37-5.98; P = 0.005) were associated with disease recurrence. Tumour location was not associated with disease recurrence in any of the analyses. There was no difference in cancer-specific survival between renal pelvis and ureteral tumours (P = 0.476). Using multivariate analysis, pT classification (HR, 8.04; P = 0.001) and lymph node status (HR, 4.73; P = 0.01) were the only independent predictors associated with a worse cancer-specific survival.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Tumour location is unable to predict outcomes in a single-centre series of consecutive patients who were treated with radical nephroureterectomy for UUT-TCC.
authors: Clinic of Urology, Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia. em2bogomir@yahoo.com
authors: Bogomir
authors: B
authors: Milojevic
authors: Milan
authors: M
authors: Djokic
authors: Sandra
authors: S
authors: Sipetic-Grujicic
authors: Dragica
authors: D
authors: Milenkovic-Petronic
authors: Aleksandar
authors: A
authors: Vuksanovic
authors: Uros
authors: U
authors: Bumbasirevic
authors: Ivan
authors: I
authors: Vukovic
authors: Dejan
authors: D
authors: Dragicevic
authors: Cane
authors: C
authors: Tulic
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002295:Carcinoma, Transitional Cell / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D009392:Nephrectomy; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate; D014513:Ureter / Q000601:surgery; D014516:Ureteral Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery