Objectives: To review our perioperative experience with patients presenting with high-risk bladder cancer who had undergone prior therapy for prostate cancer. With the increase in diagnosis and subsequent treatment of prostate cancer, more patients presenting with high-risk bladder cancer have undergone prior therapy for prostate cancer. Radical cystectomy in these patients can be technically challenging and may be associated with added morbidity.
Methods: A retrospective review of 458 patients treated with radical cystectomy between January 1993 and January 2002 revealed 29 patients (mean age 72 years) who had received definitive treatment for prostate cancer prior to cystectomy for bladder carcinoma. The initial treatment in this cohort was radical prostatectomy or external beam radiotherapy in 12 (41%) and 17 (59%) men, respectively. Cystectomy was performed for transitional cell carcinoma in 25 (86%), small cell carcinoma in 2 (6%), and sarcoma in 2 (6%) patients.
Results: At the time of cystectomy, the mean blood loss was 1175 mL (range 275 to 3500), and the median length of hospitalization was 8 days (range 4 to 23). No intraoperative or perioperative deaths occurred in this cohort. Twenty-seven early complications were identified in 16 (55%) of 29 patients; no rectal injuries occurred. Patients with prior radiotherapy had a higher rate of extravesical bladder carcinoma (60%) than those patients treated with prior prostatectomy (33%). An orthotopic neobladder diversion was created in 5 patients (17%).
Conclusions: Patients with bladder cancer previously treated for prostate cancer with external beam radiotherapy or radical prostatectomy have an increased risk of perioperative complications compared with patients undergoing cystectomy without prior therapy. This risk is not prohibitive, and radical cystectomy should remain the treatment of choice for high-risk bladder cancer in this population. Furthermore, orthotopic urinary diversion may be a reasonable option and should be considered in select patients.