Canadian experience of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on bladder recurrences in patients managed with trimodal therapy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer

Khaled Ajib; Michael C Tjong; Guan Hee Tan; Gregory J Nason; Mohamad Baker Berjaoui; Annette Erlich; Manjula Maganti; Srikala S Sridhar; Neil E Fleshner; Alexandre R Zlotta; Charles Catton; Alejandro Berlin; Peter Chung; Girish S Kulkarni

doi:10.5489/cuaj.6459

Canadian experience of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on bladder recurrences in patients managed with trimodal therapy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer

Can Urol Assoc J. 2020 Dec;14(12):404-410. doi: 10.5489/cuaj.6459.

Affiliations

¹ Division of Urology, Departments of Surgery and Surgical Oncology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
² Department of Radiation Oncology of Urology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
³ Division of Urology, Mount Sinai Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁴ Department of Biostatistics, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁵ Division of Medical Oncology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Abstract

Introduction: Bladder preservation with trimodal therapy (TMT) has emerged as a feasible alternative to radical cystectomy in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) was proven to cause pathological downstaging. For this reason, we evaluated whether receipt of NAC decreases local bladder recurrences in TMT patients.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed our TMT database for all patients treated between 2003 and 2017. Patients were treated with maximal transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) followed by chemotherapy/radiotherapy with or without NAC. Baseline demographic and tumor characteristics were recorded. Rates of local and systemic recurrence were analyzed per receipt of NAC. Overall recurrence-free survival (RFS) and bladder (b)RFS were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards modelling.

Results: Median age and followup periods were 72 years and 3.6 years, respectively. Fifty-four patients had NAC and concurrent chemoradiation (NAC-TMT) vs. 70 patients who had concurrent chemoradiation only (TMT). Carcinoma in situ (CIS) was present in 31% of the patients in NAC-TMT group compared to 24% in TMT group (p=0.40). After treatment, 24 (44%) and 31 (44%) patients in NAC-TMT and TMT groups, respectively, had bladder tumor recurrence. Overall RFS at three years was 46% and 50% in NAC-TMT and TMT groups, respectively (p=0.70). BRFS at three years was 55% and 69% in NAC-TMT and TMT groups, respectively (p=0.27). Multivariable analyses found that the presence of concomitant CIS (hazard ratio [HR] 2.13; 95% confidence interval CI 1.06-4.27; p=0.0036) was the primary factor associated with local bladder recurrence.

Conclusions: Receipt of NAC does not obviate the risk of bladder recurrence post-TMT. Patients with CIS should be monitored especially closely for local recurrence.