Oncologic Outcomes Following Three Different Approaches to the Distal Ureter and Bladder Cuff in Nephroureterectomy for Primary Upper Urinary Tract Urothelial Carcinoma

There is a lack of consensus regarding the prognostic significance of different approaches to the bladder cuff at surgery for primary upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UUT-UC). To compare the oncologic outcomes following radical nephroureterectomy using three different methods of managing the bladder cuff. From January 1990 to December 2007, 414 patients with primary UUT-UC underwent radical nephroureterectomy at our institution. Of these, 301 were included in our study. Three methods of bladder cuff excision—intravesical incision, extravesical incision, and transurethral incision (TUI)—were performed. Patients’ medical records were reviewed retrospectively. The clinicopathologic data and oncologic outcomes were compared among groups. Of the 301 patients, 81 (26.9%) underwent the intravesical method, 129 (42.9%) underwent the extravesical technique, and 91 (30.2%) underwent TUI. There were no differences in clinical and histopathologic data among the three groups. When comparing the intravesical, extravesical, and TUI techniques, bladder recurrence developed in, respectively, 23.5%, 24.0%, and 17.6% cases (p = 0.485); local retroperitoneal recurrence in 7.4%, 7.8%, and 5.5% (p = 0.798); contralateral recurrence in 4.9%, 3.9%, and 2.2% (p = 0.632); and distant metastasis in 7.4%, 10.4%, and 5.5% (p = 0.564). There were no differences in recurrence-free and cancer-specific survival among the three groups (p = 0.680 and 0.502, respectively). The three techniques had comparable oncologic outcomes. Our data validate the TUI method of bladder cuff control in patients with primary UUT-UC without coexistent bladder tumors.