Extranodal Extension Predicts Poor Survival Outcomes among Patients with Bladder Cancer.

BACKGROUND

Several lymph node-related prognosticators were reported in bladder cancer patients with lymph node involvement and receiving radical cystectomy. However, extranodal extension (ENE) remained a debate to predict outcomes.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis of 1303 bladder cancer patients receiving radical cystectomy and bilateral pelvic lymph node dissection were identified in the National Taiwan Cancer Registry database from 2011 to 2017. Based on the 304 patients with lymph node involvement, the presence of ENE and major clinical information were recorded and calculated. The overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were estimated with Kaplan-Meier analysis and compared using the log-rank test. Hazard ratios (HR) and the associated 95% confidence intervals were calculated in the univariate and stepwise multivariable models.

RESULTS

In the multivariable analysis, ENE significantly reduced OS (HR = 1.74, 95% CI 1.09-2.78) and CSS (HR = 1.69, 95% CI 1.01-2.83) more than non-ENE. In contrast, adjuvant chemotherapy was significantly associated with better OS and CSS upon the identification of pathological nodal disease.

CONCLUSIONS

Reduced OS and CSS outcomes were observed in the pathological nodal bladder cancer patients with ENE compared with those without ENE. After the identification of pathological nodal disease, adjuvant chemotherapy was associated with better survival outcomes.