Pyuria predicts poor prognosis in patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer

To evaluate the significance of inflammation in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), we assessed the presence of pyuria at time of diagnosis.

A cohort of 805 patients with newly diagnosed NMIBC between 1994 and 2007 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Tama Medical Center were enrolled in this retrospective study. Pyuria was defined as urine containing ≥ 10 white blood cells (WBCs) per high power field (HPF).

One hundred ninety-nine (24%) of the patients with NMIBC had pyuria. The 3-year recurrence-free survival rates of patients with and without pyuria were 10.9 vs. 45.0%, respectively. The 5-year progression-free survival rates of patients with and without pyuria were 72.3% and 95.7%, respectively. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models indicated that pyuria was an independent predictor of disease recurrence and progression. After dividing the sample according to the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) risk tables, we further classified patients into subgroups according to the presence of pyuria. The recurrence-free survival rates were higher in the pyuria-negative subgroups of the low, intermediate-low, intermediate-high, and high risk for recurrence groups. Similarly, the progression-free survival rates at 5 years were higher in the pyuria-negative subgroups of the low, intermediate-low, and intermediate-high risk for progression groups.

Patients with inflammatory NMIBC exhibited poor clinical outcomes.