Etiology of Treatment Delays in Patients Receiving Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) prior to radical cystectomy (RC) improves overall survival in muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), but successful completion rates of NAC are low. A retrospective analysis was undertaken to determine the etiology of deviations of NAC administration for MIBC. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of MIBC patients in an institutional database who received NAC followed by RC from 2008 to 2016. Patients were characterized as having completed NAC without deviation (“No Deviation”) or with deviation (“Deviation”). Factors associated with “Deviation” were assessed with logistic regression models. RESULTS: 172 MIBC patients received NAC followed by RC; 49 were excluded due to incomplete NAC data. Of the remaining 123 patients, 80 (65%) received Gemcitabine and Cisplatin (GC) and 25 (20%) received dose-dense MVAC (ddMVAC). In all, 85 (69%) patients had “Deviation” in planned NAC administration, while the remaining 38 (31%) patients had “No Deviation.” Twenty-six (33%) of GC patients experienced delays (mean = 21.5±17.0 days) and 6 (24%) ddMVAC patients experienced delays (mean = 10.5±9.5 days). Receipt of GC was associated with higher likelihood of “Deviation” in comparison to ddMVAC (OR = 15.4; 95% CI 4.43–53.72, p < 0.01), and administration of NAC at our institution was associated with lower likelihood of “Deviation” in comparison to receipt in the community (OR = 0.25; 95% CI 0.25–0.72, p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Deviations in administration of NAC were common in our cohort (69%) and were associated with receipt of GC and administration of NAC at an outside institution.