Radical cystectomy versus chemoradiation for muscle-invasive bladder cancer: Impact of treatment facility and sociodemographics

Background: The present study sought to compare the differences in practice patterns, as well as clinical outcomes for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer undergoing treatment with either radical cystectomy (RC) or concurrent chemoradiaiton (CRT). Patients and Methods: The National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) was queried for patients diagnosed with T2/T3/T4aN0M0 bladder cancer, between 2004-2013, that received definitive treatment with either RC or CRT. Results: 16,960 patients met the inclusion criteria; 1,450 (8.5%) underwent CRT, while 15,510 (91.5%) were treated with RC. Patients undergoing CRT were older, more likely to be female, African American, received treatment at an academic facility, and lived <20 miles of the treatment facility. CRT was associated with worse median OS (32.8 months vs. 36.1 months; p=0.0004). Conclusion: Older patients are more likely to undergo bladder preservation therapy, while those living farther away from treatment facilities are less likely to under CRT.