Trends in Management and Outcomes Among Patients with Urothelial Carcinoma Undergoing Radical Cystectomy from 1995 to 2015: The Memorial Sloan Kettering Experience.

PURPOSE: To evaluate trends in oncologic characteristics and outcomes, as well as perioperative management, among patients undergoing radical cystectomy at Memorial Sloan Kettering from 1995 to 2015. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed our institutional database to analyze changes in disease recurrence probability, cancer-specific and all-cause mortality, incidence of muscle-invasive bladder cancer, use of perioperative chemotherapy, rate of positive soft-tissue surgical margins, and lymph node yield. RESULTS: In 2,740 patients with non-metastatic urothelial carcinoma undergoing radical cystectomy from 1995 to 2015, the 5-year probability of disease recurrence decreased from a peak of 42% in 1997 to 34% in 2013 (p=0.045), while 5-year probability of cancer-specific mortality likewise declined from 36% in 1997 to 24% in 2013 (p=0.009). Incidence of non-muscle-invasive disease before radical cystectomy did not change, comprising 30%-35% of patients across the study period. Use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy rose significantly: 57% of patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer from 2010 to 2015 received it. We observed a corresponding rise in complete pathologic response (pT0) at radical cystectomy, as well as decreasing positive soft-tissue surgical margins (10% to 2.5%) and rising lymph node yield (7 to 24) from 1995 to 2015. CONCLUSIONS: Over a 21-year period, outcomes after radical cystectomy at our institution improved significantly, as probability of recurrence and cancer-specific mortality decreased. Increasing utilization of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, rising pT0 rates, decreased positive soft-tissue surgical margins, and increasing lymph node yields likely contributed, suggesting that optimized surgical and perioperative care led to improved cancer outcomes in patients undergoing radical cystectomy.