Contemporary outcomes of 2287 patients with bladder cancer who were treated with radical cystectomy: a Canadian multicentre experience

OBJECTIVE To evaluate data obtained from a large, multi-institutional, contemporary series of patients who underwent radical cystectomy (RC) in a universal healthcare system aiming to assess outcome and identify novel prognostic variables. MATERIALS AND METHODS Data were collected and pooled from 2287 patients treated with RC between 1998 and 2008 by urological oncologists from eight Canadian academic centres. Collected variables included various clinicopathological parameters, recurrence and death. Survival and prognostic variables were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression analysis. RESULTS The median age of patients was 68 years with a mean (median) follow-up time of 35 (29) months. The 30, 60 and 90-day postoperative mortality rates were 1.3%, 2.6% and 3.2%, respectively. The 5-year overall, recurrence-free and cancer-specific survival was 57%, 48% and 67%, respectively, with a local recurrence rate of 6%. Pathological stage distribution was