Reproductive organ involvement in female patients undergoing radical cystectomy.

Abstract

274 Background: Anterior pelvic exenteration is traditionally the treatment of choice for women with invasive bladder carcinoma. Female reproductive organ involvement is reported to be low, but there is not enough evidence to abandon this part during radical surgery. We evaluated the pathological involvement of reproductive organs (RO) in female patients undergoing radical cystectomy for invasive bladder urothelial carcinoma. Methods: 2,098 patients with bladder cancer underwent cystectomy between 1971 and 2008 at USC, of whom 458 were female. 411 (90%) had urothelial and 47 had non-urothelial bladder cancer. The cohort of female cystectomy patients with pathologic RO involvement is reviewed and their RFS and OS are discussed. Results: In the TCC group, 20 patients (4.8%) had RO involvement by urothelial cancer (UC-RO); 10 (2.5%) had vaginal, 2 (0.5%) cervical and one (0.25%) only uterus involvement with the rest (7) having a combination. In non-UC group, only two (4%) had RO involvement. In the UC-RO cohort, median age was 71 yo (38-89). Only one patient (5%) underwent orthotopic diversion. 19 cases (95%) were high grade TCC. Clinical stage T4a was diagnosed in 25% of cases preoperatively. Associated CIS, multifocality, LVI and histologic type of cancer had no significant correlation with RO involvement. Patients with a palpable mass or hydronephrosis were 5 times more likely to have RO involvement (P<0.001). RO involvement was associated with higher chance of positive lymph nodes (60%) (P=0.001). Three (15%) and seven (35%) patients underwent neo-adjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy respectively. Urethral pathology was positive in 1 patient. 5 (25%) developed local recurrence and 9 (45%) developed distant metastasis at a median follow up of 12.2 yrs (0.1 to 35.5 yrs). Two-year RFS and five-year OS in UC-RO group were both 10%. Conclusions: The risk of RO involvement in female patients undergoing cystectomy for bladder cancer is about 5%, with the vagina being the most commonly involved organ. A palpable mass and/or hydronephrosis are a strong predictor of RO involvement, although other clinical criteria are not predictive.