To investigate the impact of neoadjuvant chemotherapy implementation with gemcitabine-cisplatin on survival outcomes for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer in Denmark.
Data were collected on all patients in Denmark undergoing radical cystectomy who were potential candidates for neoadjuvant chemotherapy from 2010 to 2015 (n = 851). A cohort before the implementation of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (Cohort 2010-12) was compared with a cohort after implementation (Cohort 2013-15). Patients in Cohort 2013-15 receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (+NAC, n = 213) were compared with patients in Cohort 2013-15 not receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (-NAC, n = 139). Pathological results after radical cystectomy and oncological outcomes were compared between the study cohorts. Overall survival, disease-free survival, and disease-specific survival were compared with Kaplan-Meier plots and with univariable and multivariable Cox regression. Kaplan-Meier estimates of overall survival were also performed separately for treating hospital and for pathological stage.
Pathological T0 (pT0) was more frequent in patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy: 34% versus 18% when comparing Cohort 2013-15 with Cohort 2010-12 (p < 0.001), and 46% versus 16% in +NAC compared with -NAC (p < 0.001). Overall survival, disease-free survival, and disease-specific survival at 5 years after cystectomy were not improved in Cohort 2013-15 compared with Cohort 2010-12 with adjusted hazard ratios of 1.11 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.87-1.43), 1.02 (95% CI: 0.81-1.29), and 1.06 (95% CI: 0.80-1.41), respectively.
This observational study found no improved survival in a national cohort of patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer undergoing radical cystectomy after implementation of NAC. However, reservations should be made regarding the study design and the true effect of NAC on survival outcomes.
Scandinavian journal of urology. 2024 Feb 26*** epublish ***
Stefanie Korsgaard Körner, Thomas Dreyer, Andreas Carus, Line Hammer Dohn, Ulla Nordström Joensen, Gitte Wrist Lam, Niels Viggo Jensen, Knud Fabrin, Thor Knak Jensen, Helle Pappot, Mads Agerbæk, Jørgen Bjerggaard Jensen
Department of Urology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark. ., Department of Urology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark., Department of Oncology, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark., Department of Oncology, Herlev and Gentofte University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark., Department of Urology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Copenhagen University, Copenhagen, Denmark., Department of Urology, Herlev and Gentofte University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark., Department of Oncology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark., Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark; Department of Urology, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark., Department of Urology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark., Department of Clinical Medicine, Copenhagen University, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark., Department of Oncology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.