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Cancer Resources > Cancer News > Cancer News from Reuters > Reuters Cancer News > 2006 > October
Extracapsular extension of bladder cancer does not worsen prognosis
Will Boggs, MD
Last Updated: 2006-10-26 13:55:01 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In the contemporary era, extracapsular extension (ECE) in patients with bladder cancer is no longer a bad prognostic finding, according to a report in the October 1st Cancer.
"What our study suggests is that, with the adoption of multimodal therapy, ECE does not carry as much weight as was previously believed," Dr. Ashish M. Kamat from University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, told Reuters Health.
Dr. Kamat and colleagues evaluated the relevance of ECE in 108 patients with bladder cancer who underwent radical cystectomy without preoperative chemotherapy.
ECE of involved lymph nodes was present in 41% of patients, the authors report, but this finding was not significantly associated with overall survival or relapse-free survival.
Receiving adjuvant chemotherapy, however, was significantly associated with prolonged overall survival, disease-specific survival, and relapse-free survival, the researchers note. Among patients with ECE, adjuvant chemotherapy was associated with longer overall and relapse-free survival.
"The current study suggests that ECE is not an independent prognostic factor in a contemporary series of patients with positive lymph nodes at radical cystectomy," the authors conclude. "This might be reflective of a paradigm shift that encompasses the adoption of multimodal therapy."
"There are several factors which need to be considered -- such as pT stage, histology (e.g., variants), nodal status, etc. -- to determine the optimal management for an individual patient after radical cystectomy," Dr. Kamat added.
Cancer 2006;107:1491-1495.
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