Objectives: To review understaging and survival of patients who underwent early versus deferred radical cystectomy (RCX) for high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC; T1 G3).
Methods: The results of 1,521 RCXs including 1,420 for bladder cancer were reviewed: (1) A total of 114 patients with high-risk NMIBC underwent a single TUR-BT followed by immediate RCX to estimate the understaging rate. (2) As much as 260 patients with NMIBC had long-term follow-up before RCX to determine the upgrading and upstaging over time. (3) We compared survival in patients with initial T1 G3 bladder cancer (BC) treated with early RCX (n = 175) versus deferred RCX (n = 99) for recurrent T1 G3.
Results: (1) Our understaging rate was 20.2%. (2) Allowing NMIBC to upgrade portents a 19% survival disadvantage. (3) The 10 years cancer-specific survival rate was 78.7% in early and 64.5% in deferred RCX.
Conclusions: Early, as compared to deferred RCX, has a distinct survival advantage for high-risk NMIBC. Patients should be counselled accordingly.