339 Background: We present the largest series reviewing complications and pathologic outcomes following neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and radical cystectomy (RC), to determine whether the interval between chemotherapy and surgery (ICS) affects 90-day post-operative morbidity and lymph node metastasis. Methods: We analyzed 338 patients treated with NAC followed by RC from January 1995 through December 2013. The association of ICS with 90-day surgical morbidity, incidence of major complication, 90-day readmission, and lymph node metastasis was determined. Generalized linear models were used to determine potential predictors of each endpoint. Patients were stratified into four groups by ICS days (18 – 42; 43 – 64; 64 – 85; > 85). Complications were classified using the Clavien system. Results: The overall morbidity of the cohort was 59%, with 66% being minor, and 34% being major complications. The median ICS was 46 days (18 – 199 days). There was no difference in the overall morbidity, readmission, or major complication rates among the four groups. Patients with an ICT > 85 days had the highest incidence of lymph node metastasis (40%), though this was not found to be significant (p = 0.1). On multivariate analysis including predictors of perioperative morbidity, extravesical (pT3 – 4) disease (OR = 1.97; p = 0.01) was an independent predictor of overall morbidity, while age at cystectomy (OR = 1.05; p = 0.004), and surgical time ≥ 7 hrs (OR = 2.87; p = 0.001) were independent predictors of major complications. Only surgical time ≥ 7 hrs (OR = 2.24; p = 0.006) was found to be a predictor of readmission. In a separate multivariate analysis that included risk factors for pathological node positivity, the predictors for lymph node metastasis included variant histology (OR = 2.06; p = 0.026) and extravesical disease (OR = 2.76; p = 0.002). Patients with an ICT > 85 days had a higher risk of node metastasis though this was not significant. Conclusions: Patients can undergo RC anytime between 2.5 – 12 weeks after NAC with no difference in risk of surgical complications or nodal metastasis.
Prospective mapping of lymph node metastasis in Japanese patients undergoing radical cystectomy for bladder cancer: characteristics of micrometastasis