Perioperative Outcomes of Laparoscopic Radical Nephroureterectomy and Regional Lymphadenectomy in Patients With Upper Urinary Tract Urothelial Carcinoma After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

Abstract

To determine the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on the surgical outcomes in patients undergoing laparoscopic radical nephroureterectomy (LNUX) for upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). We performed a retrospective review of all patients with UTUC who had undergone LNUX at our institution from January 2003 to June 2010. We compared the differences in demographic, clinicopathologic, and operative parameters, including the estimated blood loss, duration of surgery, length of postoperative hospitalization, and number of complications, between the patients who had undergone LNUX after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and those who had undergone LNUX without neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the predictors of complications. We identified 82 patients with UTUC who had undergone LNUX. Of these patients, 26 had received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The patients who had undergone LNUX after neoadjuvant chemotherapy had a greater body mass index, greater biopsy tumor grade, and longer operative time than those who had undergone LNUX without neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy had undergone regional lymphadenectomy more often, with more lymph nodes and lymphoadipose tissue removed, than those who had not received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy resulted in a 15% complete remission rate. No differences in the median estimated blood loss, intraoperative transfusion rate, or length of hospitalization between the 2 groups were found. The perioperative complication rates were similar in both groups. We found no differences in the surgical outcomes between those patients who had undergone LNUX after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and those who had undergone LNUX without neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Our findings support the use of LNUX for selected patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy for UTUC.