Repeat TURBT in large volume high-grade non-invasive bladder cancer

The American Urological Association (AUA)/Society of Urology Oncology (SUO) guidelines recommend a repeat transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) for high-risk, non-invasive (HR Ta) nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) patients. The evidence base for this recommendation is weak (grade C) and fraught with methodological shortcomings, such as the lack of adjuvant intravesical Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) and single-center study designs.

We sought to evaluate the effect of repeat TURBT on recurrence-free survival at a population level in HR Ta NMIBC patients who completed BCG induction therapy.

High-grade Ta NMIBC patients who underwent TURBT for a ≥5 cm tumor were identified within the SEER-Medicare database. All patients completed induction BCG and were stratified into two groups: repeat TURBT within eight weeks of initial TURBT and a group without repeat TURBT (control group). The primary endpoint was the 3-year high-risk recurrence rate.

A cohort of 604 patients was identified, with 93 (15.4%) undergoing a repeat TURBT within eight weeks of initial TURBT and 511 (84.6%) without a repeat TURBT. Patient demographic and clinical characteristics were similar overall. No significant difference in the 3-year recurrence rate was noted (repeat TURBT: 20.4% vs. control group: 15.7%, p = 0.25). After adjusting for demographic and clinical characteristics, no association between repeat TURBT and 3-year high-risk recurrence was observed (HR (95% CI): 1.27 (0.76, 2.11); p = 0.36).

Although our study contains several major limitations, our results suggest that repeat TURBT in large volume HG Ta NMIBC treated with induction BCG therapy was not associated with improved high-risk recurrence-free survival.