Partial and Radical cystectomy Provides Equivalent Oncologic Outcomes in T2 Bladder Cancer: a Population-Based Study

PurposeTo compare the oncologic outcomes of T2 bladder cancer (BCa) patients after partial cystectomy (PC) or radical cystectomy (RC). Materials and MethodsRelevant data of T2 BCa patients diagnosed between 2004 and 2015 were retrieved from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. After propensity score matching, the oncologic outcomes after PC or RC were compared in patients who underwent lymph node dissection (LND) or not. Additionally, the benefits of different LND strategies were also explored. ResultsEventually, 3834 T2 BCa cases were enrolled in the analysis, including 724 (18.9%) received PC cases and 3110 (81.1%) RC cases. The PC and RC groups presented entirely different profiles in clinical parameters such as age, number of lymph nodes (LNs) removed, and adjuvant therapy. Particularly, LNDs were performed in 92.0% of RC cases, while only in 45.4% of PC cases. After propensity score matching, PC and RC present similar oncologic outcomes regardless of the LND strategies. Further exploration found that LND could improve the prognosis of patients and the benefit is associated with the number of LNs removed. ConclusionPC and RC could provide equivalent oncologic outcomes in T2 BCa. LND is essential in curative surgery and could significantly affect the prognosis, but it was frequently neglected, especially in PC. The criteria for PC in T2 BCa need further exploration in future studies.