Prognostic Factors and Oncological Outcomes after Radical Nephroureterctomy for Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma: Review of Contemporary Multi-Center Series

Ramy F. Youssef, Bishoy A. Gayed, Vitaly Margulis

Division of Urologic Oncology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, USA.

DOI: 10.4236/oju.2012.24045                

Abstract

Upper tract urothelial cancers (UTUC) are uncommon and the information guiding their management used to be driven from small single center studies. Multi-center international collaborations should provide clinicians with best management practices as well as prognostic factors guiding treatment decisions and outcomes. We reviewed literature from the largest multicenter collaborations for radical nephroureterctomy (RNU) performed for management of UTUC. Our review included over 50 recent manuscripts from 2009-2012 that were published from multi-center UTUC collaboration groups. Our review aims to determine of the prognostic factors predicting oncological outcomes after RNU and to provide insights about possible maximization of cure with utilization of multimodal treatment approaches. Application of approaches comprising RNU including lymphadenectomy and systemic chemotherapy; particularly in neoadjuvant settings; might have implications on improvement of oncological outcomes in high risk patients.

Keywords

Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma; Prognosis; Outcomes; Nephroureterctomy

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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