Metastasectomy of oligometastatic urothelial cancer: a single-center experience

BACKGROUND: Survival in patients with urothelial cancer (UC) recurrence after initial treatment with curative intent is limited and treatment options are sparse. Metastasectomy could be considered a treatment option in selected cases. Identifying prognostic factors for survival can be used to counsel patients and aid multidisciplinary teams in making treatment decisions. METHODS: We collected a retrospective case series of patients undergoing metastasectomy for oligometastatic UC between 1999 and 2018 at University Hospitals Leuven. Oligometastatic UC was defined as recurrence of UC in a single organ with ≤3 metastases. Survival outcomes of interest were: overall survival (OS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), and secondary recurrence-free survival (RFS2). Complications were reported using the Clavien-Dindo classification (CDC). Survival analysis are descriptive and were performed using Kaplan-Meier plots to visualize survival data and log-rank was used to compare survival between groups. RESULTS: From 1999 to 2018, a total of 22 patients underwent metastasectomy of oligometastatic UC. Metastasectomy sites were: pulmonary (59.1%), loco-regional (13.6%), hepatic (9.1%), adrenal (4.5%), testicular (4.5%), nodal above aortic bifurcation (4.5%), and renal transplant (4.5%). The 5-year OS, CSS and RFS2 after metastasectomy were 51.4%, 57.0%, and 49.9%, respectively. Patients with primary upper tract urothelial cancer (UTUC) involvement and patients treated with hepatic metastasectomy had a significantly worse OS, CSS, and RFS2. Patients with a lesion size >8 mm and patients with >1 pulmonary lesion had a significantly worse CSS. Two CDC grade 3B occurred during follow-up and were both non-procedure related. CONCLUSIONS: Metastasectomy of oligometastatic UC is feasible and can achieve durable cancer control in a highly selected subgroup of patients. Our results suggest that patients with hepatic metastases or primary UTUC involvement could be considered poor candidates for metastasectomy, while patients with a small (<8 mm) or solitary pulmonary lesion might benefit most. These findings should be validated in multi-institutional collaborations or prospective clinical studies.