Partial cystectomy during radical surgery for nonurological malignancy

It is not uncommon for a locally advanced, nonurological malignancy to invade the bladder. Partial cystectomy may be required to ensure complete tumor eradication. To our knowledge the true benefit of this procedure is unknown.

A total of 45 patients underwent partial cystectomy as part of radical surgery for a nonurological malignancy. We retrospectively reviewed these cases to determine which malignancies are prone to invade the bladder, the incidence of malignant invasion, the complication rate and the prognosis after wide en bloc resection.

Colorectal adenocarcinoma accounted for the majority of cases. Tumor invaded only 11 bladder specimens (21.5%). Radical surgery was performed with curative intent in 30 patients, of whom 23 had negative surgical margins. At a mean followup of 30.7 months 16 of these 23 patients (69.6%) were free of disease or died of other disease processes. Disease progression and/or cancer related death occurred in 14 of the 15 patients (93.3%) who underwent surgery for palliation and in 16 of the 17 (94.1%) with positive margins at a mean of 21.7 months. Overall disease specific survival in those with malignant invasion was 27.3% compared to 41.2% when the bladder was fixed by a dense fibrous reaction only. No reported complications were related to partial cystectomy at followup.

Advanced primary and recurrent nonurological malignancies often involve the bladder. Partial cystectomy may be necessary due to a dense fibrous reaction or direct tumor extension. While this distinction is made only after formal pathological results are reviewed, wide en bloc resection is necessary to ensure complete excision. When radical surgery is performed with curative intent and negative surgical margins are achieved, patients are likely to experience prolonged disease-free survival.