Oncologic outcomes and survival in pT0 tumors after radical nephroureterectomy for upper tract urothelial carcinoma: Results from of a large multicenter international collaborative study

摘要

Urothelial carcinomas of the upper tract (UTUCs) are rare tumors representing only 5% of urothelial carcinomas [1]. To date, radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) remains the gold standard treatment for UTUCs, as it affords durable local control [2-4]. In a small proportion of cases, the surgical specimen is free of tumor (pTO) on pathologic examination [5]. In a study comprising nine patients, Raman et al. reported that pTO RNU patients have a highly variable outcome, with three patients dying from their disease within a mean follow-up of 23.1 mo [5]. Due to the rarity of this disease and specifically of this pathologic entity, there is no high-level evidence to guide patients and physicians in their clinical decision making regarding postoperative management. Therefore, to better understand the biological and clinical behavior of pTO after RNU, we pooled the data from two large collaborative databases.