Prophylactic intravesical chemotherapy can decrease bladder cancer recurrence rate after nephroureterectomy for upper tract urothelial carcinoma. We aimed to compare the effect of different prophylactic intravesical chemotherapy regimens in bladder recurrence-free survival. From 2000 to 2016, a total of 270 patients treated with radical nephroureterectomy at both institutions were enrolled. Patients were divided into 3 groups: multiple-instillation group, single-instillation group, and no-instillation group. Univariable and multivariable analyses with Cox regression methods were performed to calculate hazard ratios for bladder recurrence using clinicopathologic data, including our different instillation strategies. Sixty-three (23.3%) of 270 patients had subsequent intravesical recurrence. Significantly fewer patients in both the instillation groups had a recurrence compared to in the no-instillation group (13.1% vs 25.4% vs 41.5%, P = .001). Furthermore, there was a significant difference between both the instillation groups ( P = .016). In different subsets of patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma, intravesical chemotherapy, either multiple or single instillation, was a protective factor of bladder recurrence in pT2-4 ( P = .002) and high grade ( P < .0001). Importantly, Kaplan-Meier curves of bladder recurrence-free survival rate were increased observably in multiple-instillation group compared to that in single-instillation group ( P = .053 in pT2-4 subgroup; P = .048 in high-grade subgroup, respectively). On multivariable analysis, intravesical chemotherapy ( P < .001), especially multiple instillations (hazard ratio 0.230; 95% confidence interval 0.110-0.479), was identified an independent predictor of bladder recurrence-free survival. In conclusion, prophylactic intravesical chemotherapy effectively prevents bladder recurrence after nephroureterectomy, especially with multiple instillations, in patients with invasive upper tract urothelial carcinoma or at high-grade status.
Keywords: intravesical chemotherapy; neoplasm recurrence; nephroureterectomy; urinary bladder; urothelium.