In patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, local-regional failure (LF) has been reported to occur in up to 20% of patients following radical cystectomy. The goals of this study were to describe patterns of LF, as well as assess factors associated with LF in a cohort of patients with pT3-4 bladder cancer. This information may have implications towards the use of adjuvant radiation therapy.

Patients with pathologic T3-4 N0-1 bladder cancer were examined from an institutional radical cystectomy database. Preoperative demographics and pathologic characteristics were examined. Outcomes included overall survival and LF. Local-regional failures were defined using follow-up imaging reports and scans, and the locations of LF were characterized. Variables were tested by univariate and multivariate analysis for association with LF and overall survival.

A total of 334 patients had pT3-4 and N0-1 disease after radical cystectomy and bilateral pelvic lymph node dissection. Of these, 46% received perioperative chemotherapy. The median age was 71 years old, and median follow-up was 11 months. On univariate analysis, margin status, pT stage, and pN stage, were all associated with LF (P<.05), however, on multivariate analysis, only pT and pN stages were significantly associated with LF (P<.05). Three strata of risk were defined, including low-risk patients with pT3N0 disease, intermediate-risk patients with pT3N1 or pT4N0 disease, and high-risk patients with pT4N1 disease, who had a 2-year incidence of LF of 12%, 33%, and 72%, respectively. The most common sites of pelvic relapse included the external and internal iliac lymph nodes (LNs) and obturator LN regions. Notably, 34% of patients with LF had local-regional only disease at the time of recurrence.

Patients with pT4 or N1 disease have a 2-year risk of LF that exceeds 30%. These patients may be the most likely to benefit from local adjuvant therapies.