Cystectomy outcomes in NSW : a population based study

Introduction & Objectives: There have been numerous reports from centres of academic excellence detailing the outcomes of patients undergoing radical cystectomy for the treatment of invasive bladder cancer. These outcomes are not representative of the general outcomes in a population as they are biased in terms of referral, patient selection, treatments offered and follow-up. Very few contemporary population based outcomes of cystectomy have been published. The aim of this study was to investigate outcomes of cystectomy in the NSW population. Methods: Using the New South Wales (NSW) central cancer registry we identified all invasive BC cases diagnosed between 2001 and 2009. Records were linked to the to the NSW Admitted Patient Data Collection (APDC), to retrieve treatment details and to the Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages and Australian Bureau of Statistics to obtain death details. 804 individuals who underwent radical cystectomy were selected for this study. Kaplan Meir survival curves and cox proportional hazards model were used to determine survival estimates and associations. Results: A total of 420 of 804 (52.2%) patients diagnosed died during the period of follow-up. Of these deaths, 289 (36%) were due to BC and 131 (16.3%) from other causes. Time to cystectomy from date of original TURBT was in excess of 90 days in 311 patients (38.7%). The majority of patients had their surgery in a low or moderate volume (