Trends in quality of life reporting for radical cystectomy and urinary diversion over the last four decades: A systematic review of the literature

Objective: To report the trends in quality of life (QoL) reporting for radical cystectomy (RC) and urinary diversion (UD) over the last four decades, as RC for bladder cancer is associated with significant morbidity and QoL issues. Material and methods: We searched PubMed, Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), Excerpta Medica dataBASE (EMBASE), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and the Cochrane library for published studies from January 1980 to January 2017 in the English language. We divided the published articles into three time periods: period-1 (1980–1997), period-2 (1998–2007) and period-3 (2008–2017). Results: A total of 85 QoL studies (8417 patients) were identified, of which 3347 (39.8%) patients had an ileal conduit (IC), 1078 (12.8%) had a continent UD (CD), 3264 (38.8%) had a neobladder (NB), and in the remaining 728 (8.6%) the type of UD was not specified. Whilst there were 15, 24 and 41 studies in period-1, period-2 and period-3 respectively, two (13%), 20 (83%) and 37 (90%) used a validated QoL tool; and none, six (25%) and 23 (56%) used a urology specific QoL tool during these three time periods. Similarly, the number of prospective studies increased from one (7%) to four (17%) and 14 (34%) in these three time periods. The proportion of reported IC patients reduced from 65% (784 patients) to 36% (899) and 35% (1664) from period-1 to period-3, whereas the proportion of NB patients increased from 4.5% (54) to 44% (1105) and 44% (2105). Over the last few years there have been QoL studies on laparoscopic and robotic IC and NB UDs. Conclusion: Our review suggests an increasing use of validated, bladder cancer-specific questionnaires with UD-specific constructs. Abbreviations: BCI: Bladder Cancer Index; BDI: Beck Depression Inventory; BIS: Body Image Scale; CD: continent urinary diversion; EORTC QLQ-30C: European Organisation for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life 30-item core questionnaire; ERAS: enhanced recovery after surgery; FACT(-BL)(-G)(-VCI): Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy(-Bladder Cancer)(-General)(-Vanderbilt Cystectomy Index); IC: ileal conduit; NB: neobladder; (HR)QoL: (health-related) quality of life; (RA)RC: (robot-assisted) radical cystectomy; SF-36: 36-item short-form health survey; SIP: Sickness Impact Profile; UD: urinary diversion