Risk Stratification Using a Perioperative Nomogram for Predicting the Mortality of Bladder Cancer Patients Undergoing...

Background: Perioperative factors significantly impact oncologic outcomes after radical cystectomy (RC) for bladder cancer. This study aimed to identify key perioperative predictors for overall (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) and to develop a prognostic nomogram for the identification of high-risk patients adapted to the clinical routines and standard of care of our country. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 121 patients undergoing RC (2014-2024). Data on patient demographics, comorbidities, tumor pathology, neoadjuvant treatments, extensive intraoperative factors, and postoperative events were assessed using COX models. A prognostic nomogram for 3-year OS was constructed. Results: Median follow-up was 44.33 months. Significant predictors for worse OS included lymphovascular invasion (LVI) (HR 2.22), higher T stage (HR 8.75), N+ status (HR 1.10), and intraoperative complications (HR 3.04). Similar predictors were noted for PFS. The developed nomogram incorporated T-, N-stages, sex, grade, intraoperative complications and early (12 months) recurrence, and was able to significantly identify patients with a higher mortality risk (p < 0.001) with a C-index of 0.74. Conclusions: Our nomogram for mortality prediction of BC patients offers a promising tool for individualized risk stratification. Further studies are required for its external validation.