Efficacy of High-Intensity Local Treatment for Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma of the Bladder: A Propensity Score-Weighted Analysis From the National Cancer Data Base

PURPOSE: Evidence from studies of other malignancies has indicated that aggressive local treatment (LT), even in the presence of metastatic disease, is beneficial. Against a backdrop of stagnant mortality rates for metastatic urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (mUCB) at presentation, we hypothesized that high-intensity LT of primary tumor burden, defined as the receipt of radical cystectomy or ≥ 50 Gy of radiation therapy delivered to the bladder, affects overall survival (OS).

PATIENTS AND METHODS: We identified 3,753 patients within the National Cancer Data Base who received multiagent systemic chemotherapy combined with high-intensity versus conservative LT for primary mUCB. Patients who received no LT, transurethral resection of the bladder tumor alone, or < 50 Gy of radiation therapy delivered to the bladder were included in the conservative LT group. Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) -adjusted Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression analyses were used to compare OS of patients who received high-intensity versus conservative LT.

RESULTS: Overall, 297 (7.91%) and 3,456 (92.09%) patients with mUCB received high-intensity and conservative LT, respectively. IPTW-adjusted Kaplan-Meier curves showed that median OS was significantly longer in the high-intensity LT group than in the conservative LT group (14.92 [interquartile range, 9.82 to 30.72] v 9.95 [interquartile range, 5.29 to 17.08] months, respectively; P < .001). Furthermore, in IPTW-adjusted Cox regression analysis, high-intensity LT was associated with a significant OS benefit (hazard ratio, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.48 to 0.65; P < .001).

CONCLUSION: We report an OS benefit for individuals with mUCB treated with high-intensity versus conservative LT. Although the findings are subject to the usual biases related to the observational study design, these preliminary data warrant further consideration in randomized controlled trials, particularly given the poor prognosis associated with mUCB.