Dissecting Patterns of Care in Patients With Variant Histology of Bladder Cancer and Lymph Node Invasion
Abstract
Objectives: Lymph node invasion (LNI) is related to long-term survival in patients with muscle-invasive bladder
cancer. However, in the case of variant histology (VH), data on pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) and LNI are
sparse. We described the pattern of care of PLND in patients with VHs of bladder cancer, exploring predictors of LNI.
Methods: Using the 2001–2016 SEER registry, 20 767 bladder cancer patients who underwent PLND were identified. Included histological variants were pure urothelial carcinoma (UC), micropapillary UC, sarcomatoid UC, lymphoepithelioma-like UC, adenocarcinoma, sarcoma, giant and spindle cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and neuroendocrine tumor. Uni- and multivariable logistic regression analyses tested for LNI predictors. Cox regression was used to test for predictors of overall mortality (OM) among both LNI positive and LNI negative patients.
Results: Overall, 2464 (11.9%) harbored a VH. On multivariate analysis, only micropapillary UC was associated
with higher risk (OR = 3.39) of LNI. This association was maintained when only the subset of patients treated without perioperative chemotherapy were analyzed (OR = 3.30). Similarly, higher T stage (T2 stage OR = 2.24; T3–4 stage OR = 9.44) and the use of chemotherapy (OR = 2.29) were associated with a higher risk of LNI. Among patients with LNI (5299, 25.5%), SCC (HR = 1.87), T3–4 stage (HR = 1.94), age at diagnosis (HR = 1.01) and geographic region (south) (HR = 1.22) were predictors of higher risk of OM. Conversely, chemotherapy (HR = 0.69) and number of removed LN (HR = −0.99) were associated with lower risk of OM. Finally, in a subgroup of patients without LNI, sarcomatoid UC (HR = 1.58) and giant and spindle cell carcinoma (HR = 1.83) were the only VH predictors of OM.
Conclusions: We described different patterns of care in patients with VHs of bladder cancer. Micropapillary UC was an independent risk factor for LNI. Among patients harboring LNI, those with SCC VH had higher OM compared to pure UC. Conversely, sarcomatoid UC and giant and spindle cell carcinoma were predictors of OM in patients without nodal involvement.
The Société International d'Urologie (SIU), which owns and publishes the Société International d'Urologie Journal (SIUJ), does not require authors of papers published in the journal to transfer copyright. Instead, we ask authors to grant an exclusive licence that allows us to publish the article in SIUJ (and any derivative or related products or publications) and that allows us to sub-license such rights and exploit all subsidiary rights.
Authors retain the right to use their own articles for their own non-commercial purposes without seeking explicit permission from SIU.
The SIUJ publication licence expressly defines “non-commercial” as “not primarily intended for or directed towards commercial advantage or monetary compensation.” Although no activity is completely disconnected from commercial activity, the following are generally considered to be non-commercial uses:
- Reproduction of a reasonable number (no more than 100) of print copies of the published paper for personal use (e.g., sharing with colleagues, including in grant applications).
- Posting a copy of the published version of the paper on the author’s own or their institution’s website. The article must be accompanied by this statement: ‘This article has been published in the SIUJ: [full citation; link]’.
- Inclusion of the paper in a course pack, with a maximum of 100 copies to be used in the author’s institution. The copies must include the following acknowledgement: ‘This article has been published in the SIUJ: [full citation; link].’
As the distinction between commercial and non-commercial is not always clear, authors are strongly advised to seek permission from SIU for any use that may be considered to have a commercial aspect.
We ask the corresponding author to read the terms of the licence and then to grant this exclusive licence on behalf of all authors by indicating agreement to the following statement:
The corresponding author has the right to grant on behalf of all authors and does grant on behalf of all authors, an exclusive licence on a worldwide basis to the SIU and its licensees to permit this article (if accepted) to be published in the SIUJ and any other SIU products and publications and to exploit all subsidiary rights, as set out in our licence agreement.
Review and Decision
Most submissions will be reviewed by a senior editor within 2 weeks. Many manuscripts will be rejected at this point for a variety of reasons, including subject matter outside the scope of the SIUJ, flawed design, discredited or outdated methodology, poor organization or presentation, failure to conform to ethical requirements, and apparent plagiarism.The remaining manuscripts will be sent for peer review. The SIUJ uses a single-blind process: reviewers know the identity of the authors, but the authors are not told who has reviewed their manuscript, and SIUJ ensures that potentially identifying information is removed from comments sent to them. Reviewers are asked to make their recommendations within 10 days, after which a senior/specialist editor will consider their comments and recommend provisional acceptance dependent on satisfactory revision, acceptance without revision, or rejection. Authors should receive a final decision within 4 to 6 weeks of submission.
