Association between urinary diversion and quality of life after radical cystectomy

We examined the association between type of urinary diversion and quality of life (QoL) in patients who underwent radical cystectomy for primary bladder cancer using a validated, disease-specific instrument.

A cohort of 314 consecutive patients treated with radical cystectomy and urinary diversion for primary bladder cancer between January 2000 and December 2006 was analyzed. Participants were mailed the validated Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Vanderbilt Cystectomy Index (FACT-VCI) questionnaire. Univariable and multivariable linear regression analyses were used to examine the association between type of urinary diversion (ileal conduit versus orthotopic neobladder) and QoL.

Eighty-four out of 168 (50% response rate) evaluable patients completed the FACT-VCI questionnaire. The median follow up duration was 5.6 years (range, 2.1 to 9.3 years). ANOVA showed statistically significant differences favoring orthotopic neobladder urinary diversion with more favorable QoL scores on the FACT-VCI (mean difference 5.6 points, p = .03) and radical cystectomy-specific domain (mean difference 2.9 points, p = .05). However, multivariable linear regression analyses showed no statistically significant association between the type of urinary diversion and QoL (FACT-VCI: β = 4.1 points, p = .177; radical cystectomy-specific: β = 1.5 points, p = .390).

Type of urinary diversion was not associated with QoL after radical cystectomy. Randomized controlled trials comparing types of urinary diversion using validated, disease-specific QoL instruments are needed.