Gynecologic Organ Involvement During Radical Cystectomy for Bladder Cancer: Is It Time to Routinely Spare the Ovaries?

Clin Genitourin Cancer. 2019 Feb;17(1):e209-e215. doi: 10.1016/j.clgc.2018.10.009. Epub 2018 Oct 29.

Abstract

Purpose: To determine a subset of women who could undergo ovary-sparing radical cystectomy (OSRC) for bladder cancer without compromising oncologic safety.

Patients and methods: A retrospective review was performed of 164 consecutive women who underwent cystectomy at a single tertiary-care center from 1997 to 2018. Clinicopathologic and preoperative radiographic data were reviewed. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models adjusting for pathologic stage, lymphovascular invasion (LVI), and carcinomain-situ were performed to evaluate the risk of ovarian and reproductive organ (RO) involvement.

Results: A total of 123 women with a median age of 71 years underwent radical cystectomy (RC) with removal of ROs for primary bladder cancer. Nineteen women (15%) had RO involvement by bladder cancer, and 5 of them (4%) were specifically found to have ovarian involvement. Patients with ovarian involvement of bladder cancer had more locally advanced disease (P = .01), LVI (P = .003) and positive margins (P = .003). On multivariable logistic regression, ≥ pT3 (odds ratio = 10.2; 95% confidence interval, 2.0-51.6; P = .005) and LVI (odds ratio = 3.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-14.2; P = .037) were associated with increased risk of RO involvement. Among 15 patients excluded for having a nonbladder primary malignancy, a third had RO involvement, and 2 (13%) had ovarian metastases. No women in our cohort had a primary ovarian malignancy detected at the time of RC.

Conclusion: Women with ovarian involvement by malignancy at the time of RC either had locally advanced disease with LVI or a non-bladder primary malignancy. The risk of incompletely resecting the primary malignancy would be rare if OSRC was performed on women with organ-confined (≤T2) urothelial carcinoma.

Keywords: Female; Ovarian sparing; Urothelial carcinoma; Women.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adenocarcinoma / pathology
  • Adenocarcinoma / surgery*
  • Aged
  • Carcinoma, Small Cell / pathology
  • Carcinoma, Small Cell / surgery*
  • Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / pathology
  • Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / surgery*
  • Cystectomy / methods*
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Organ Sparing Treatments / methods*
  • Ovary / pathology
  • Ovary / surgery*
  • Prognosis
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / pathology
  • Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / surgery*