Patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) often have a delayed diagnosis and by then, present with advanced disease which has been shown to be associated with lymphovascular invasion (LVI). It has been suggested to be involved in the metastatic cascade of the disease. In this review, we provide an extensive up-to-date summary of the current knowledge about the prognostic impact of LVI in patients undergoing radical nephroureterectomy (RNU). A systematic search of PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, EMBASE, and Web of Science for all reports published from 2010 through 2021 was performed. We performed pooled analyses of hazard ratios (HRs) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of series that evaluated LVI as a prognostic factor in adults with UTUC who underwent RNU. The assessed oncological outcomes were disease recurrence, cancer-specific and overall survival. A meta-regression analysis was used to explore potential heterogeneity. A total of 58 series met the eligibility criteria for qualitative and quantitative synthesis. We included 29,829 patients, ranging from 101 to 2492 per study. All series were retrospective. LVI was present in 7,818 patients (26.2%). The median age of the patients was 69 years and the median follow-up was 40 months. In 40 of 58 studies (68.9%), adjuvant chemotherapy was given. The pooled HRs show that LVI predicts a greater risk of recurrence of the disease (pooled HR 1.43, 95% CI: 1.31-1.55, P = 0.000; I2 = 76.3%), and decreases cancer-specific survival (pooled HR 1.53, 95% CI: 1.41-1.66, P = 0.000; I2 = 72.3%) and overall survival (HR 1.56, 95% CI 1.45-1.69, P = 0.000; I2 = 62.9%). It can be concluded that LVI is a common histologic pattern in surgical specimen in patients undergoing RNU for UTUC. LVI predicts a greater risk of recurrence and mortality, thus it should be carefully assessed in clinical practice to determine prognosis, and for optimal decision-making within the concept of personalized therapies.
- MeSH
- karcinom z přechodných buněk * patologie MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- lokální recidiva nádoru chirurgie MeSH
- nádory močového měchýře * chirurgie MeSH
- nádory močovodu * patologie MeSH
- nefroureterektomie MeSH
- prognóza MeSH
- retrospektivní studie MeSH
- senioři MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- senioři MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- metaanalýza MeSH
- přehledy MeSH
- systematický přehled MeSH
CONTEXT: Smoking habit at the time of surgery is associated with higher perioperative complications and mortality across different types of surgeries. In recent years, several studies have attempted to explore the influence of smoking on perioperative outcomes following radical cystectomy (RC) for urothelial bladder cancer (UBC) with contradictory results. OBJECTIVE: To systematically investigate and meta-analyze the association between smoking habit and perioperative morbidity and mortality in UBC patients treated with RC. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: A systematic review of the literature published between January 2000 and January 2020 investigating the impact of smoking habit on perioperative outcomes of patients treated with RC for UBC was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement and the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Overall, 27 articles involving 27 854 patients were included in the systematic review, and of these, 11 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The studies included showed a moderate to high risk of bias. Smoking status (smokers vs nonsmokers) was significantly associated with the onset of major postoperative complications (hazard ratio [HR] 1.87, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.51-2.32; I2 = 0%), infections (HR 1.34, 95% CI 1.02-1.72; I2 = 66.2%), and mortality (HR 1.84, 95% CI 1.14-2.98; I2 = 4.9%). CONCLUSIONS: Smoking status at the time of RC is associated with increased risk for major postoperative complications, infections, and mortality. These results suggest the need for strict postoperative monitoring in smokers due to the increased risk of experiencing adverse events and underline the need for intensive smoking cessation interventions in the preoperative setting. PATIENT SUMMARY: In this study, we reviewed the impact of smoking habit on perioperative outcomes following radical cystectomy (RC). Based on the available data, the impact of smoking on morbidity and mortality after RC is significant and relevant; as such, every effort should be made in the preoperative setting to encourage smoking cessation.
