Outcome after radical cystectomy with limited or extended pelvic lymph node dissection

PURPOSE: We compared recurrence patterns and survival of patients with urothelial bladder cancer undergoing radical cystectomy who either had limited or extended pelvic lymph node dissection at 2 institutions between 1987 and 2000. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two consecutive series of patients treated with radical cystectomy and limited pelvic lymph node dissection (336; Cleveland Clinic) and extended pelvic lymph node dissection (322; University of Bern) were analyzed. All cases were staged N0M0 prior to radical cystectomy, and none were treated with neoadjuvant radiotherapy or chemotherapy. Patients with PTis/pT1 and pT4 disease were excluded from analysis. Pathological characteristics based on the 1997 TNM system and recurrence patterns were determined. RESULTS: The overall lymph node positive rate was 13% for patients with limited and 26% for those who had extended pelvic lymph node dissection. The 5-year recurrence-free survival of patients with lymph node positive disease was 7% for limited and 35% for extended pelvic lymph node dissection. The 5-year recurrence-free survival for pT2pN0 cases was 67% for limited and 77% for extended pelvic lymph node dissection, and the respective percentages for pT3pN0 cases were 23% and 57% (p <0.0001). The 5-year recurrence-free survival for pT2pN0-2 cases was 63% for limited and 71% for extended pelvic lymph node dissection, and for pT3pN0-2 cases the respective figures were 19% and 49% (p <0.0001). Incidence of local and systemic failure correlated closely with pathological stage for both series. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that limited pelvic lymph node dissection is associated with suboptimal staging, poorer outcome for patients with node positive and node negative disease, and a higher rate of local progression. Extended pelvic lymph node dissection allows for more accurate staging and improved survival of patients with nonorgan confined and lymph node positive disease

Complete Resection of Seminal Vesicles at Radical Prostatectomy Results in Substantial Long-Term Disease-Free Survival: Multi-Institutional Study of 6740 Patients.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the disease-specific survival of patients with complete removal of the seminal vesicles (SVs) at radical prostatectomy and to develop a nomogram for the prediction of SV invasion (SVI). METHODS: An analysis of 6740 patients from three institutions was performed. The primary outcome was biochemical failure analyzed according to the presence or absence of SVI using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards model. The variables analyzed included age, biopsy Gleason score, clinical T stage, margin status, extracapsular extension, SVI, surgical Gleason score, initial prostate-specific antigen level, and institution. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the preoperative factors predicting for SVI and create the model for the nomogram. RESULTS: Of the 6740 patients, 566 (8.4%) had positive SVs. The median follow-up was 33.4 months (range 1 to 239). The 5 and 10-year biochemical relapse-free survival rate was 38.0% and 25.6%, respectively, for patients with positive SVs and 85.7% and 77.2%, respectively, for patients with negative SVs (P CONCLUSIONS: These results have demonstrated that a substantial number of patients with SVI are disease free at 5 and 10 years after complete excision without adjuvant therapy. These findings suggest the therapeutic efficacy of complete SV excision and can identify those with a nomogram-predicted increased risk of SVI who might benefit from complete excision