[IMPACT OF ADJUVANT CHEMOTHERAPY AFTER RADICAL CYSTECTOMY FOR PATIENTS WITH LOCALLY ADVANCED BLADDER CANCER]

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Oncology
• Chemotherapy

Context:

• Locally advanced bladder cancer (BC) poses a significant clinical challenge.
• Radical cystectomy (RC) is a standard treatment, but adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) effectiveness requires further evaluation.
• Muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) with non-organ-confined disease necessitates optimized treatment strategies.

Purpose:

• To retrospectively assess the therapeutic impact of platinum-based AC following RC in patients with locally advanced bladder cancer.
• To compare disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) between patients who received AC and those who did not.
• To identify patient subgroups who benefit most from adjuvant chemotherapy.

Summary:

• This retrospective study analyzed 90 patients with non-organ-confined muscle-invasive bladder cancer treated with RC.
• Patients receiving platinum-based AC showed improved 2-year DFS (36.3% vs. 25.9%) and OS (64.3% vs. 41.4%) compared to controls.
• AC significantly benefited pN-positive patients, demonstrating longer DFS (14 vs. 4.5 months) and OS (38 vs. 11.5 months), and was an independent predictor of DFS.

Impact:

• Adjuvant chemotherapy following radical cystectomy significantly improves disease-free survival in pN-positive locally advanced bladder cancer patients.
• The findings support the use of platinum-based AC in selected MIBC patients post-RC to enhance oncological outcomes.
• This study provides evidence for optimizing adjuvant treatment strategies in bladder cancer management.