Extraurothelial recurrence after radical nephroureterectomy: preoperative predictors and survival

Objective To identify the preoperative predictors of extraurothelial recurrence (EUR) after radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). Methods A single-center series of 238 consecutive patients who were treated with RNU for UTUC was evaluated. Recurrence-free probabilities and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to evaluate the association between various clinicopathological factors and EUR. Results The median time to EUR was 17.6 months (range 3–73 months). EUR-free survival rates at 1, 3, 5, and 7 years were 87.8, 75.2, 73.5, and 72.6 %, respectively. In multivariate Cox regression analyses, tumor stage (HR 27.4; 95 % CI 7.83–95.8; p = 0.0001) and lymphovascular invasion (LVI) (HR 1.53; 95 % CI 1.22–3.12; p = 0.01) were independently associated with EUR. In patients with EUR, 5-year CSS estimate was 29.2 %. Tumor stage (HR 14.3; 95 % CI 4.55–45.2; p