Survival of Contemporary Patients With Non-metastatic Small-cell Carcinoma of Urinary Bladder, According to Alternative Treatment Modalities.

The objective of this study was to test the effect of chemotherapy and/or radical cystectomy (RC) and/or radiotherapy (RT) on survival of patients with non-metastatic small-cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder (SCCUB).

Within the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry (2001-2016), we identified patients with non-metastatic (T1-4, N0, M0) SCCUB. Treatment was defined as: chemotherapy alone, chemotherapy + RC, and chemotherapy + RT. Temporal trends, cumulative incidence plots, and multivariable competing risks regression models were used.

Of 595 patients with SCCUB, 230 (38.5%), 159 (27%), and 206 (34.5%) were treated with chemotherapy alone, chemotherapy + RC, and chemotherapy + RT, respectively. The rates of chemotherapy + RC increased (estimated annual percentage changes [EAPC], +5.9%; P = .002). Conversely, chemotherapy alone (EAPC, -1.7%; P = .1) and chemotherapy + RT rates decreased (EAPC: -2.2%; P = .08). Overall, 5-year cancer-specific mortality (CSM) rates were 44%, 29%, and 40% for patients treated with chemotherapy alone, chemotherapy + RC, and chemotherapy + RT, respectively (P = .004). Relative to chemotherapy alone, patients treated with chemotherapy + RC experienced lower CSM (hazard ratio, 0.5; P < .001). Conversely, patients treated with chemotherapy + RT did not exhibit any CSM benefit (hazard ratio, 0.8; P = .2), when compared with chemotherapy alone.

In contemporary patients with SCCUB with non-metastatic disease, the rates of chemotherapy + RC are increasing. Conversely, the rates of combined chemotherapy with RT and chemotherapy alone are decreasing. These patterns of treatment are in agreement with better cancer control in patients with SCCUB. In consequence, until more robust data become available, the combination of chemotherapy and RC should represent the recommended treatment strategy.

Clinical genitourinary cancer. 2019 Dec 13 [Epub ahead of print]

Stefano Luzzago, Carlotta Palumbo, Giuseppe Rosiello, Sophie Knipper, Angela Pecoraro, Sebastiano Nazzani, Zhe Tian, Gennaro Musi, Emanuele Montanari, Shahrokh F Shariat, Fred Saad, Alberto Briganti, Ottavio de Cobelli, Pierre I Karakiewicz

Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montreal Health Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Urology, European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Milan, Italy. Electronic address: ., Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montreal Health Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Urology Unit, ASST Spedali Civili of Brescia, Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties, Radiological Science and Public Health, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy., Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montreal Health Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Urology and Division of Experimental Oncology, URI, Urological Research Institute, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy., Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montreal Health Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Martini-Klinik Prostate Cancer Center, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany., Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montreal Health Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Urology, San Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, University of Turin, Turin, Italy., Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montreal Health Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Academic Department of Urology, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, University of Milan, Milan, Italy., Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montreal Health Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada., Department of Urology, European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Milan, Italy., Department of Urology, IRCCS Fondazione Ca' Granda-Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, University of Milan, Milan, Italy., Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Urology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY; Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX; Department of Urology, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic; Institute for Urology and Reproductive Health, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia., Department of Urology and Division of Experimental Oncology, URI, Urological Research Institute, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy., Department of Urology, European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Milan, Italy; Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.