ORIGINAL ARTICLE Primary Urothelial Carcinoma of the Ureter: 11-Year Experience in Taipei Veterans General Hospital

Background: Urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary tract is relatively rare, occurring in 5 % of all urothelial tumors. Ureteral urothelial carcinoma is even less common than that of the renal pelvis, accounting for about 25 % of all upper urinary tract tumors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical behavior, survival, recurrence and prognostic information of primary ureteral urothelial carcinoma from our 11 years of experience at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 111 patients with ureteral urothelial carcinoma who had been treated in our hospital between January 1993 and December 2003. Tumor staging was according to the 2002 AJCC TNM classification and stage groupings. Patients with stage 0a and stage 0is were categorized as stage 0a/is, and patients with pathologic T stage pTa and pTis were categorized as pTa/is for statistical analysis. The Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis. Results: There were 69 males and 42 females, with a mean age of 70.5 ± 9.4 years at diagnosis. Of the 111 patients, 5 presented with stage 0a/is, 38 with stage I, 23 with stage II, 21 with stage III, and 24 with stage IV. Nephroureterectomy with bladder cuff excision was performed in 78 patients, 12 patients received segmental resection of the ureter, 4 received ureteroscopic laser coagulation, and 17 underwent chemotherapy or radiotherapy or both. Tumors were located on the left side in 53 patients, on the right in 53, and bilaterally in 5. The mos