Influence of Blood Vessels, Lymphatics and Perineural Invasion on Prognosis of Patients Treated with Radical Cystectomy for Transitional Cell Carcinoma of Bladder

Jeon, Hwang Gyun; Lee, Eunsik; Lee, Sang Eun

Abstract

PURPOSE: The relationship between pathological parameters, such as blood vessel, lymphatic and perineural invasions, and prognosis, are controversial. We retrospectively analyzed the charts of patients with bladder cancer to identify the prognostic significance of these parameters.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A retrospective review of 125 of 181 patients with bladder cancer treated with radical cystectomy was conducted. Patients treated with neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy and those who were found to have lymph node metastasis after cystectomy were excluded from the study.
RESULTS
The mean patient age was 62.5 years(range 39-84) and the overall median follow-up was 40.1months(range 1 to 146). Blood vessel, lymphatic, and perineural invasions were present in 8.8%, 20.8%, 8.8% of the specimens, respectively, and 28% of the patients had at least one of three factors. Univariate analysis revealed that blood vessel lymphatic, and perineural invasions were prognostic predictors of survival. However, only tumor stage and blood vessel invasion were calculated to be independent factors of survival on multivariate analysis.
CONCLUSIONS
In this series, the pathological stage and blood vessel invasion are significant parameters of tumor-free survival in patients who have undergone cystectomy for bladder cancer. Our findings suggest that blood vessel, lymphatic, and perineural invasions should be examined more carefully.