Implementation of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in muscle invasive bladder cancer treatment in Poland: a single institution retrospective study

INTRODUCTION: Even though the survival benefit of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in the treatment of muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) is well established, NAC has not been widely used in Poland until recently. The aim of our study was to evaluate the utilization of NAC and its association with survival in MIBC. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Patients who underwent radical cystectomy (RC) for MIBC between December 2012 and December 2017 were included in the study. Data were collected in the perioperative period and long-term observation was continued up to August 2018. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to estimate the probability of survival. RESULTS: A sample of 155 patients with a median age of 65 (IQR: 60–69) years was analyzed. In this group, 79 patients (51%) were treated with NAC prior to RC. Patients in the NAC+RC group were younger, more often had a positive smoking history, and had lower preoperative levels of hemoglobin, white blood cells and C-reactive protein. A 90-day complication rate and mortality were similar in both groups and in the entire cohort were equal to 64.5% and 5.2%, respectively. The overall survival (OS) was on average 150 days longer in the RC+NAC group compared to the RC-only group when patients were followed-up for 3 years (95%CI:3 4 – 267; p = 0.011). CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated a high utilization of NAC at our institution. The use of NAC was associated with a better prognosis than RC alone and was not associated with an increased morbidity or mortality. Our results support the use NAC as a safe and effective treatment modality in MIBC.