Is preoperative anemia a risk factor for upper tract urothelial carcinoma following radical nephroureterectomy?

[[abstract]]PURPOSE: We aimed to identify the effect of preoperative anemia on oncologic outcomes in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) who had different levels of renal function. METHODS: Between 2000 and 2013, we enrolled 370 patients who underwent radical nephroureterectomy for nonmetastatic UTUC. Preoperative anemia was defined as hemoglobin <130g/l in men and <120g/l in women based on the World Health Organization classification. Kaplan-Meier method was applied to estimate the effect anemia on survival, and hazard ratios (HR) of anemia and other clinicopathological parameters were evaluated by Cox regression model. The analyses were also performed in patients with different chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages. RESULTS: In all, 242 (65.4%) patients were anemic before surgery. Those with preoperative anemia had worse CKD stage (P