Oncological Outcomes for Patients with European Association of Urology Very High-risk Non–muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer Treated with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin or Early Radical Cystectomy

Abstract

BackgroundEuropean Urology Association (EAU) guidelines recommend immediate radical cystectomy (early RC) for patients with very high-risk (VHR) non–muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), with bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) recommended only for those who refuse or are unfit for RC. ObjectiveTo describe oncological outcomes following BCG or early RC in a contemporary cohort of patients with VHR NMIBC (EAU criteria). Design, setting, and participantsPatients diagnosed with VHR NMIBC between 2000 and 2020 were identified from our institutional NMIBC registry. Outcome measurements and statistical analysisThe primary outcomes were overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific mortality (CSM). Secondary outcomes were the progression rate and high-grade recurrence (HGR) rate for patients receiving BCG. Results and limitationsWe identified 235 patients with VHR NMIBC, of whom 157 (67%) received BCG and 78 (33%) underwent early RC. The median follow-up was 52.8 mo. OS and CSM rates were 80.2% and 5.3% in the BCG group, and 88.1% and 4.9% in the early RC group, respectively with no significant difference in OS (p = 0.6) or CSM (p = 0.8) between the two groups. Among the patients treated with BCG, 5-yr HGR and progression rates were 41.9% and 17.4%, respectively; 39 patients (25%) underwent delayed RC after BCG. No significant difference in CSM emerged when comparing patients treated with delayed RC (after BCG) with those undergoing early RC (p = 0.86). ConclusionsOur findings suggest that intravesical BCG can be offered to patients as a resonable alternative to early RC for selected patients with VHR NMIBC. Patient summaryWe evaluated outcomes for patients with very high-risk non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) treated with BCG (bacillus Calmette-Guérin) versus early surgical removal of the bladder and found no differences in survival. We conclude that BCG could be offered to selected patients with this type of bladder cancer as a reasonable alternative to early bladder removal.