Effect of bladder cancer variant histology on survival outcome in patients treated with radical cystectomy: A single-centre experience

CONTEXT: Bladder cancer (BC) is the sixth most common malignant neoplasm in men. Recently, great effort has been devoted to the study of BC variant histology (VH). Yet, the results from these studies have shown conflicting data and remain unclear whether their presence alters recurrence and survival rates after radical cystectomy (RC). AIMS: We undertook this study aiming to test the effect on VH on recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) in single-center RC patients. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: We have retrospectively analyzed medical records and pathology reports from 331 patients who underwent RC with or without pelvic lymphadenectomy at University Urology Clinic-Skopje, North Macedonia, in the period between 2010 and 2018. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Microscopic analysis of the specimens involved the evaluation of histological tumor type, tumor grade, pathological tumor node metastasis stage, presence of lymphovascular invasion, and resection margin status. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Univariable and multivariable Cox regression models were applied to test the effect of VH on RFS and OS. RESULTS: We found 185 patients who matched our inclusion criteria. At multivariable analyses, lymphovascular invasion and positive resection margins were associated with shorter RFS. Similarly, patients diagnosed with lymphovascular invasion, positive resection margins, and a pelvic lymph node metastasis had poorer OS. VH was not found to be an independent predictor of both RFS and OS (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The present study did not reveal prognostic effect of VH on RFS and OS. In our series, histomorphologic parameters including lymphovascular invasion, resection margins, and pelvic lymph node metastasis were the most relevant predictors on survival outcome after RC.