Multimodality therapy including surgical resection and intraoperative electron radiotherapy for recurrent or advanced primary carcinoma of the urinary bladder or ureter

Objectives: To report outcomes of multimodality therapy incorporating surgical resection and intraoperative electron radiotherapy (IOERT) for patients with locoregionally (LR) recurrent or advanced primary urothelial carcinoma. Methods: From 1983 to 2009, 17 patients, consisting of 11 with LR recurrence after cystectomy for bladder carcinoma, 4 with LR recurrence after nephroureterectomy for ureteral carcinoma, and 2 with advanced primary bladder carcinoma were treated with multimodality therapy. In 8 patients with LR recurrence, the multimodality treatment was a second salvage attempt. Sixteen patients received perioperative external beam radiotherapy (median dose, 50.4 Gy; range, 21.6 to 60 Gy). Extent of resection was R0 (n = 7), R1 (n = 1), and R2 (n = 9). The median IOERT dose was 12.5 Gy (range, 10 to 20 Gy). Overall survival (OS) and relapse patterns were determined from the date of resection and IOERT using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: The median follow-up for surviving patients was 3.6 years (range, 1.1 to 10 y). OS at 1, 2, and 5 years was 53%, 31%, and 16%, respectively. Central (within the IOERT field), LR (tumor bed or regional lymph nodes), and distant relapses at 2 years were 15%, 49%, and 67%, respectively. On univariate analysis, resection of all gross disease (R0-1) was associated with improved OS (P = 0.03). Mortality within 30 days was 0%. Two patients (12%) experienced NCI-CTCAE grades 4 and 5 late adverse events. Conclusions: In patients with recurrent or advanced urothelial carcinoma, this multimodality approach yielded a low rate of recurrence within the IOERT field with acceptable toxicity. However, LR and distant relapse were common, indicating a need for better patient selection, LR therapy, and systemic therapy.