Delaying Radical Cystectomy After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer is Associated with Adverse Survival Outcomes

Background: Delaying radical cystectomy (RC) after a diagnosis of muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) has been associated with adverse survival. However, data are lacking regarding the impact of RC delay in patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). Objectives: To assess whether the time from last cycle of NAC to RC (time to cystectomy, TTC) is associated with survival among MIBC patients. Design, setting, and participants: The study cohort comprised 226 patients treated with NAC and RC between 1999 and 2015 for cT2–T4N0M0 bladder cancer. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: Descriptive statistics were used to test the association between TTC and clinicopathologic variables. Overall mortality (OM) and cancer-specific mortality (CSM) were analyzed via Kaplan-Meier estimation according to TTC. We assessed factors associated with OM and CSM using multivariable Cox regression analyses. Results and limitations: The median TTC was 7.57 wk (interquartile range 5.2–10.8). Patients with a Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) ≥1 had a longer TTC than those with a score of <1 (p = 0.027). The group with TTC >10 wk had significantly lower OM-free (p = 0.003) and CSM-free rates (p < 0.001) than the group with TTC ≤10 wk. TTC was independently associated with higher risk of OM (p = 0.027) and CSM (p = 0.004) after accounting for age, gender, pathologic extravesical disease, and nodal status. Conclusions: TTC of >10 wk after NAC was associated with adverse survival among patients with MIBC. Patients with a higher CCI were more likely to have prolonged TTC. Patient summary: The impact of delaying radical cystectomy in patients who have received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is unknown. In this study we assessed whether prolonged time to cystectomy (TTC) after NAC affects survival outcomes in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. We found that TTC of >10 wk was associated with adverse overall survival and cancer-specific survival, and attempts should be made to shorten TTC after preoperative chemotherapy.