Clinical Outcomes of Radical Nephroureterectomy for Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma in a Specialized Cancer Hospital of a Developing Country.

Clinical Outcomes of Radical Nephroureterectomy for Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma in a Specialized Cancer Hospital of a Developing Country.

Authors

  • Azfar Ali Department of Urology, Ameer Ud Din Medical College / PGMI/Lahore General Hospital
  • Muhammad Arshad Irshad Khalil Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen United Kingdom
  • Nouman Khan Medway Maritime Hospital, Kent United Kingdom
  • Shaukat Faiz Department of Urology, Peshawar Medical College / Kuwait Teaching Hospital, Peshawar
  • Siddique Adnan Department of Urology, Kabir Medical College Peshawar / Maqsood Medical Complex and General Hospital Peshawar
  • Khurram Mir Department of Urology, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre, Lahore

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21649/akemu.v31i3.5889

Keywords:

Upper tract urothelial carcinoma, Radical Nephroureterectomy, Transurethral resection of the ureteric orifice, Bladder Cuff

Abstract

Background: Radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) remains the standard of care for managing upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). Various techniques and approaches for RNU have been practiced, yielding variable outcomes. In this study, we describe our technique of a combined endoscopic and open single-incision radical nephroureterectomy with bladder cuff.

Objective: To determine outcomes of open radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) using the 'pluck' technique, in patients with localized upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC).

Methods: After approval from the institutional review board, the data of all upper tract urothelial carcinoma patients operated from January 2012 to June 2022 at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Lahore General Hospital, Lahore was reviewed retrospectively. Studied variables were; Demographic characteristics, medical comorbidities, presenting concerns, and preoperative and postoperative tumour characteristics. Statistical analysis was carried out using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 25.0

Results: Out of the 31 included patients, the renal pelvic tumours were the commonest, noted in 18 (58.1%), and commonest stage being T2, present in 13 (41.9%) patients. During median follow up of 48 months (range, 3 to 132), 10 patients developed disease recurrence and 6 patients died during the median time of 39 months (range, 3 to 64). Estimated mean recurrence-free and overall survival was 82.10 ± 10.01 months and 114.40 ± 11.30 months, respectively. No major peri-operative complications were recorded. Five-year disease-free survival and overall survival was calculated to be 72% and 70%, respectively.

Conclusion: Open Radical nephroureterectomy using the pluck technique is a safe and effective surgical option in treating patients presenting with localized upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma.

References

1. Dalghi MG, Montalbetti N, Carattino MD, Apodaca G. The Urothelium. Life in a Liquid Environment. Physiol Rev. 2020;100(4):1621-1705. doi: 10.1152/physrev.00041.2019.

2. Jubber I, Shariat SF, Conroy S, Tan WS, Gordon PC, Lotan Y, et al. Non-visible haematuria for the detection of bladder, upper tract, and kidney cancer: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur Urol. 2020; 77(5):583-98. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.eururo. 2019.10.010

3. Petros FG. Epidemiology, clinical presentation, and evaluation of upper-tract urothelial carcinoma. Transl Androl Urol. 2020;9(4):1794-98. doi: 10.21037/ tau. 2019.11.22.

4. Wu J, Chen S, Wu X, Mao W, Wang Y, Xu B, et al. Trends of incidence and prognosis of upper tract urothelial carcinoma. Bosn J Basic Med Sci. 2021; 21(5): 607-19. doi: 10.17305/bjbms.2020.5345.

5. van Doeveren T, van de Werken HJG, van Riet J, Aben KKH, van Leeuwen PJ, Zwarthoff EC, et al. Synchro- nous and metachronous urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary tract and the bladder: Are they clonally related? A systematic review. Urol Oncol. 2020; 38(6): 590-8. doi: 10.1016/j.urolonc.2020.01.008.

6. Naser-Tavakolian A, Ghodoussipour S, Djaladat H. Upper urinary tract recurrence following bladder cancer therapy: a review of surveillance and management. Curr Opin Urol. 2019;29:189-97. doi: 10.1097/ MOU. 0000000000000598.

7. van Doeveren T, Nakauma-Gonzalez JA, Mason AS, van Leenders GJLH, Zuiverloon TCM, Zwarthoff EC, et al. The clonal relation of primary upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma and paired urothelial carcinoma of the bladder. Int J Cancer. 2021;148(4):981-7. doi: 10.1002/ijc.33327

8. Barton GJ, Tan WP, Inman BA. The nephroureterectomy: a review of technique and current controversies. Transl Androl Urol. 2020;9(6):3168-90. doi: 10.21037/ tau. 2019.12.07.

9. Khalil MAI, Khan N, Ali A, Abu Bakar M, Adnan S, Fiaz S, et al. Outcomes of Nephron Sparing in a Specia- list Cancer Hospital of a Developing Country. Cureus 2019, 11(2), e4150.

10. Nandurkar R, Basto M, Sengupta S. Nephron-sparing surgery for the management of upper tract urothelial carcinoma: an outline of surgical technique and review of outcomes. Transl Androl Urol. 2020;9(6):3160-7. doi: 10.21037/tau.2019.11.27.

11. Kopel J, Sharma P. Narrative review of the surgical management of high-risk upper tract urothelial carci- noma. AME Med J. 2021;6:17. doi: 10.21037/amj- 2020-smgm-01.

12. Lee H, Kim HJ, Lee SE, Hong SK, Byun SS. Compa- rison of oncological and perioperative outcomes of open, laparoscopic, and robotic nephroureterectomy approaches in patients with non-metastatic upper-tract urothelial carcinoma. PLoS One. 2019; 14(1): 0210401. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0210401.

13. Attalla K, Patnaik S, Vellos T, Mehrazin R. Management of distal ureter and bladder cuff at the time of nephro- ureterectomy: surgical techniques and predictors of outcome. Future Oncol. 2019;15(20):2385-93. doi: org/10.2217/fon-2019-0064.

14. Leow JJ, Chong YL, Chang SL, Valderrama BP, Powles T, Bellmunt J. Neoadjuvant and Adjuvant Chemothe- rapy for Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma: A 2020 Systematic Review and Meta-analysis, and Future Perspectives on Systemic Therapy. Eur Urol. 2021; 79

(5):635-4. doi:10.1016/j.eururo.2020.07.003.

15. Lai SC, Wu PJ, Liu JY, Seery S, Liu SJ, Long XB, et al. Oncological impact of different distal ureter manage- ments during radical nephroureterectomy for primary upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma. World J Clin Cases. 2020;8(21):5104-15. doi:10.12998/ wjcc. v8. i21.5104.

16. Huang EY, Tai MC, Chung HJ, Chang YH, Huang WJ. Effects of different combinations of radical nephro- ureterectomy and bladder cuff excision procedures for upper tract urothelial carcinoma on bladder recurrence. Int Braz J Urol. 2023;49(4):469-78. doi:10.1590/ S1677-5538.IBJU.2023.0031.

17. Ryoo H, Kim J, Kim T, Kang M, Jeon HG, Jeong BC, et al. Effects of complete bladder cuff removal on onco- logical outcomes following radical nephroureterectomy for upper tract urothelial carcinoma. Cancer Res Treat. 2021;53(3):795-802. doi:10.4143/crt.2020.919.

18. Toussi A, Miest T, Boorjian S, Chow GK, Thompson RH, Leibovich BC, et al. Oncological outcomes com- paring intravesical and extravesical bladder cuff exci- sion following radical nephroureterectomy for upper tract urothelial carcinoma. J Urol. 2017;197:1275-6. Doi:10.1016/j.juro.2017.02.2974.

19. Pathak RA, Hemal AK. Management of the distal ureter and bladder cuff at the time of nephroureterectomy: an overview of open, laparoscopic, and robotic approa- ches. Transl Androl Urol. 2024;13(1):109-15. doi: 10. 21037/tau-23-197.

20. Lee SM, McKay A, Grimes N, Umez-Eronini N, Aboumarzouk OM. Distal ureter management during nephroureterectomy: Evidence form a systemic review and cumulative analysis. J Endourol. 2019;33:263-73. Doi:10.1089/end.2018.0819.

21. Braun AE, Srivastava A, Maffucci F, Kutikov A. Contro- versies in management of the bladder cuff at nephro- ureterectomy. Transl Androl Urol. 2020;9(4):1868-80. doi: 10.21037/tau.2020.01.17.

22. Fragkoulis C, Pappas A, Papadopoulos GI, Stathouros G, Fragkoulis A, Ntoumas K. Transurethral resection versus open bladder cuff excision in patients undergoing nephroureterectomy for upper urinary tract carcinoma: Operative and oncological results. Arab J Urol. 2017; 15:64-7. doi:10.1016/j.aju.2016.12.003.

23. Piszczek R, Nowak Ł, Krajewski W, Chorbińska J, Poletajew S, Moschini M, et al. Oncological outcomes of laparoscopic versus open nephroureterectomy for the treatment of upper tract urothelial carcinoma: an updated meta-analysis. World J Surg Oncol. 2021; 21; 19(1):129. doi: 10.1186/s12957-021-02236-z.

Downloads

Published

09/30/2025

How to Cite

Ali, A., Muhammad Arshad Irshad Khalil, Nouman Khan, Shaukat Faiz, Siddique Adnan, & Khurram Mir. (2025). Clinical Outcomes of Radical Nephroureterectomy for Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma in a Specialized Cancer Hospital of a Developing Country. Annals of King Edward Medical University, 31(3), 290–295. https://doi.org/10.21649/akemu.v31i3.5889

Issue

Section

Original Articles

Similar Articles

> >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.

Loading...