Treatment trends of muscle invasive bladder cancer: Evidence from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database, 1988 to 2013

Objective Guidelines for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) recommends that patients receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy with radical cystectomy as treatment over radical cystectomy alone. Though trends and practice patterns of MIBC have been defined using the National Cancer Database, data using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program have been poorly described. Methods Using the SEER database, we collected data of MIBC according to the American Joint Commission on Cancer (AJCC). We considered differences in patient demographics and tumor characteristics based on three treatment groups: Chemotherapy (both adjuvant and neoadjuvant) with radical cystectomy, radical cystectomy, and chemoradiotherapy. Multinomial logistic regression was performed to compare likelihood ratios. Temporal trends were included for each treatment group. Kaplan–Meier curves were performed to compare cause-specific survival. A Cox proportional-hazards model was utilized to describe predictors of survival. Results Of 16 728 patients, 10 468 patients received radical cystectomy alone, 3236 received chemotherapy with radical cystectomy, and 3024 received chemoradiotherapy. Patients who received chemoradiotherapy over radical cystectomy were older and more likely to be African American; stage III patients tended to be divorced. Patients who received chemotherapy with radical cystectomy tended to be males; stage II patients were less likely to be Asian than White. Stage III patients were less likely to receive chemoradiotherapy as a treatment option than stage II. Chemotherapy with radical cystectomy and chemoradiotherapy are both underutilized treatment options, though increasingly utilized. Kaplan–Meier survival curves showed significant differences between stage II and III tumors at each interval. A Cox proportional-hazards model showed differences in gender, tumor stage, treatment modality, age, and marital status. Conclusions Radical cystectomy alone is still the most commonly used treatment for muscle-invasive bladder cancer based on temporal trends. Significant disparities exist in those who receive radical cystectomy over chemoradiotherapy for treatment.