Korean J Urol.  2011 May;52(5):310-316.

Prognostic Factors in Transitional Cell Carcinoma of the Upper Urinary Tract after Radical Nephroureterectomy

• Cho DS
• Hong SY
• Kim YK
• Kim SI
• Kim SJ

Abstract

PURPOSE
The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic factors for survival in patients treated surgically for transitional cell carcinoma of the upper urinary tract (UUT-TCC).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 87 patients (64 men and 23 women, mean age of 62.2 years) with UUT-TCC who had undergone radical nephroureterectomy at our institution between June 1994 and June 2009. The median follow-up period was 32 months. The prognostic significance of various clinicopathological variables for recurrence-free and cancer-specific survival was analyzed by using univariate and multivariate analysis.
RESULTS
Of the total 87 patients, 21 patients (24.1%) developed local recurrence or distant metastasis and 16 patients (18.4%) died of disease during the follow-up period. The 5-year recurrence-free and cancer-specific survival rates were 74.6% and 75.2%, respectively. In the univariate analysis, hydronephrosis, T stage, N stage, and lymphovascular invasion (LVI) were significant prognostic factors for recurrence-free and cancer-specific survival. In the multivariate analysis, T stage and LVI were independent prognostic factors for recurrence-free and cancer-specific survival.
CONCLUSIONS
The T stage and LVI are independent prognostic factors for recurrence-free and cancer-specific survival in patients with UUT-TCC treated by radical nephroureterectomy. These findings would be helpful for guiding decisions about adjuvant therapies and the surveillance interval.

Keyword

Prognosis; Transitional cell carcinoma; Urologic neoplasms

MeSH Terms

Carcinoma, Transitional Cell
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Hydronephrosis
Male
Medical Records
Multivariate Analysis
Neoplasm Metastasis
Prognosis
Recurrence
Retrospective Studies
Survival Rate
Urinary Tract
Urologic Neoplasms

Figure

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  FIG. 1 Recurrence-free (A) and cancer-specific (B) survival is illustrated for the 87 patients who underwent radical nephroureterectomy for transitional cell carcinoma of the upper urinary tract.

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  FIG. 2 Kaplan-Meier recurrence-free survival curves according to hydronephrosis grade (A), T stage (B), N stage (C), and lymphovascular invasion (D).

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  FIG. 3 Kaplan-Meier cancer-specific survival curves according to hydronephrosis grade (A), T stage (B), N stage (C), and lymphovascular invasion (D).

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