Oncologic outcomes of pelvic organ-preserving radical cystectomy vs. Standard radical cystectomy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background and objective: Radical Cystectomy is indicated in muscle-invasive bladder cancer and select cases of nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer. Women often undergo additional reproductive organ removal, greatly impacting sexual function and quality of life. Pelvic organ-preserving radical cystectomy aims to mitigate these effects, but its oncologic outcomes are not well-defined. This presents a meta-analysis of available literature on oncological outcomes of pelvic organ-preserving radical cystectomy in women with muscle invasive disease.

Methods: A systematic search across PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar was performed to identify studies comparing oncological outcomes between pelvic organ-preserving radical cystectomy and standard radical cystectomy in women with muscle-invasive bladder cancer or high-risk or recurrent nonmuscle invasive cancer. The search included English or Spanish studies, statistically comparing overall survival, cancer-specific survival, and recurrence-free survival. Statistical analysis used Review Manager, employing fixed or random-effects models based on heterogeneity.

Key findings and limitations: Six retrospective studies met inclusion criteria, totaling 597 patients of which 303 received pelvic organ-preserving radical cystectomy and 294 received standard radical cystectomy. Overall Survival was not different between the 2 groups (HR 1.05 [0.77, 1.43]; P = 0.77). Cancer-Specific Survival also was found to be not different between the 2 groups (HR 1.27 [0.86, 1.87]; P = 0.22). Additionally, recurrence-free survival was not different between the 2 groups (HR 0.85 [0.41, 1.75]; P = 0.65. Four of the included studies exhibited a moderate risk of bias, with 1 study demonstrating low risk and the remaining study manifesting a serious risk of bias.

Conclusion: The comparison showed no significant differences in overall survival, cancer-specific survival, or recurrence-free survival rates.