Timing of blood transfusion and not ABO blood type is associated with survival in patients treated with radical cystectomy for nonmetastatic bladder cancer: Results from a single high-volume institution

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES - Perioperative transfusions have been recently associated to poor outcomes as an indirect consequence of immune-hematological changes related to transfusion itself and blood type. We tested the role of blood transfusion on cancer-specific mortality (CSM) and overall mortality (OM), considering the effect of ABO system, Rh factor, and timing of transfusions.

MATERIALS AND METHODS - The study focused on 728 patients with bladder cancer treated with radical cystectomy at a single tertiary care referral center between January 1995 and August 2013 with complete ABO blood type information. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to assess the effect of transfusions, stratified according to ABO type and Rh factor, on CSM and OM. The same endpoints were tested in Cox regression models, after adjusting for all available confounders.

RESULTS - A total of 341 (46. 8%), 277 (38. 0%), 83 (11. 4%), and 27 (3. 7%) patients had blood type O, A, B and AB, respectively. Overall, 630 (86. 5%) and 98 (13. 5%) patients were Rh-and Rh+, respectively. At a median follow-up time of 65 months, 225 (30. 9%) and 282 (38. 7%) patients recorded CSM and OM, respectively. At univariable analyses, ABO blood type and Rh status were not associated to either CSM or OM (all P>0. 2). Similar results were observed when ABO blood type and Rh factor were tested in multivariable models (all P>0. 3). Conversely, Charlson score, preoperative hemoglobin, number of nodes removed, pathological T stage, and number of positive nodes were associated to both CSM and OM (all P<0. 05). Interestingly, intraoperative transfusion (all P<0. 03) but not the administration of blood units in the postoperative period (P>0. 05) was associated with an increase of CSM and OM.

CONCLUSIONS - Although ABO type or Rh factor or both were associated with several adverse outcomes in many cancers, we were not able to confirm this association in bladder cancer. Based on our results, the effect of transfusion on survival is independent by ABO type but is associated to the timing of blood supply administration.

Urologic oncology. 2016 Feb 02 [Epub ahead of print]

Marco Moschini, Marco Bianchi, Martina Sofia Rossi, Paolo Dell׳Oglio, Giorgio Gandaglia, Nicola Fossati, Agostino Mattei, Rocco Damiano, Shahrokh F Shariat, Andrea Salonia, Francesco Montorsi, Alberto Briganti, Renzo Colombo, Andrea Gallina

Department of Urology, Urological Research Institute, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy; Doctorate Research Program, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy.  Department of Urology, Urological Research Institute, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy; Doctorate Research Program, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy. , Department of Urology, S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy. , Department of Urology, Urological Research Institute, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy. , Department of Urology, Urological Research Institute, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy. , Department of Urology, Urological Research Institute, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy. , Klinik für Urologie, Luzerner Kantonsspital, Lucerne, Switzerland. , Doctorate Research Program, Magna Graecia University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy. , Department of Urology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. , Department of Urology, Urological Research Institute, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy. , Department of Urology, Urological Research Institute, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy. , Department of Urology, Urological Research Institute, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy. , Department of Urology, Urological Research Institute, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy. , Department of Urology, Urological Research Institute, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.

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