To date it is unknown whether renal vs. ureteral urothelial carcinoma affects the type and the distribution of metastatic sites, and whether survival differs according to renal vs. ureteral location in metastatic patients.
Two datasets were used, namely Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) and National Inpatients Sample (NIS). Multivariable logistic regression models tested whether renal pelvis vs. ureteral location predicts site-specific metastases. Kaplan-Meier plots and multivariable Cox regression models (CRMs) tested overall mortality (OM) according to renal pelvis vs. ureteral location.
In SEER (2010-2016), 623 (71.1%) metastatic renal pelvis urothelial carcinoma (RPUC) vs. 253 (28.9%) ureteral urothelial carcinoma (UUC) patients were identified. Patients with RPUC more frequently harbored lung (46.1% vs. 35.2%, P < 0.01; Odds ratio [OR]: 1.57, P < 0.01), but less frequently liver metastases (27.9% vs. 36.4%, P = 0.02; OR:0.66, P = 0.01). In RPUC, lung, liver, bone, and brain metastases independently predicted higher OM. Only liver metastases independently predicted higher OM in UUC. In NIS (2005-2015), 818 (61.0%) RPUC vs. 522 (39.0%) UUC patients were identified. Patients with RPUC more frequently harbored lung (34.0% vs. 17.2%, P < 0.001; OR:2.36, P < 0.001), as well as brain (4.4% vs. 1.9%, P = 0.02; OR:2.00, P = 0.049) metastases, but less frequently harbored retroperitoneal and/or peritoneal (12.3% vs. 21.8%, P < 0.001; OR:0.51, P < 0.001), urinary tract (9.3% vs. 14.0%, P = 0.01; OR:0.65, P = 0.01) and multiple metastatic sites (62.6% vs. 70.7%, P < 0.01; OR:0.69, P < 0.01).
In both databases lung metastases were more frequent in RPUC and abdominal metastases were more frequent in UUC. Moreover, liver metastases independently predicted worse survival, regardless of primary site.
Urologic oncology. 2022 Jul 25 [Epub ahead of print]
Claudia Collà Ruvolo, Marina Deuker, Mike Wenzel, Luigi Nocera, Christoph Würnschimmel, Gianluigi Califano, Zhe Tian, Fred Saad, Alberto Briganti, Evanguelos Xylinas, Paolo Verze, Gennaro Musi, Shahrokh F Shariat, Vincenzo Mirone, Pierre I Karakiewicz
Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montréal Health Center, Montréal, Québec, Canada; Urology Unit, Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive Sciences and Odontostomatology, University of Naples Federico II, Italy. Electronic address: ., Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montréal Health Center, Montréal, Québec, Canada; Department of Urology, University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany., Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montréal Health Center, Montréal, Québec, Canada; Department of Urology and Division of Experimental Oncology, URI, Urological Research Institute, IBCAS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy., Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montréal Health Center, Montréal, Québec, Canada; Martini-Klinik Prostate Cancer Center, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany., Urology Unit, Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive Sciences and Odontostomatology, University of Naples Federico II, Italy; Department of Urology, Bichat-Claude Bernard Hospital Paris Descartes University, Paris, France., Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montréal Health Center, Montréal, Québec, Canada., Department of Urology and Division of Experimental Oncology, URI, Urological Research Institute, IBCAS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy., Department of Urology, Bichat-Claude Bernard Hospital Paris Descartes University, Paris, France., Urology Unit, Department of Medicine and surgery "Scuola Medica Salernitana", University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy., Department of Urology, European Institute of Oncology (IEO), IRCCS, Milan, Italy., Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Departments 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, Prag, Czech Republic; Institute for Urology and Reproductive Health, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia; Division of Urology, Department of Special Surgery, Jordan University Hospital, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan., Urology Unit, Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive Sciences and Odontostomatology, University of Naples Federico II, Italy.