Effect of lymphovascular invasion on prognosis in high- grade pT1 bladder cancer after first transurethral resection of bladder tumor

Abstract

Objective To explore the effect of lymphovascular invasion (LVI) on prognosis in the high- grade stage pT1 bladder cancer after first transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT). Methods Thirty- five high- grade stage pT1 bladder cancer patients who underwent first TURBT and showed LVI positive according to the postoperative pathological (observation group) and 70 high- grade stage pT1 bladder cancer patients who underwent first TURBT and showed LVI negative according to the postoperative pathological (control group) were enrolled into the study. The tumor recurrence rate, tumor progression rate, recurrence- free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared between 2 groups. Results The follow- up time in observation group was 15-71 (42.1 ± 18.1) months, and in control group was 20-72 (50.9 ± 12.2) months. The tumor recurrence rate and tumor progression rate in observation group were significantly higher than those in control group: 88.6% (31/35) vs. 34.3% (24/70) and 54.3% (19/35) vs. 22.9% (16/70), and there were statistical differences (P<0.01). The RFS and OS in observation group were significantly shorter than those in control group: (19.7 ± 4.5) months vs. (46.8 ± 9.2) months and (43.4 ± 12.6) months vs. (63.4 ± 7.1) months, and there were statistical differences (P<0.05). Conclusions There is a significant correlation between LVI and tumor recurrence and progression in the high- grade pT1 bladder cancer after first TURBT, and the LVI can predict disease progression and poor prognosis. Key words: Urinary bladder neoplasms; Recurrence; Follow- up studies; Prognosis; Retrospective studies