Utilization of systemic treatment for metastatic bladder cancer in everyday practice: Results of a nation-wide population-based cohort study

Contains fulltext : 229073.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: With the introduction of new therapeutic options, the landscape of metastatic bladder cancer (mBC) management is shifting. We describe current clinical practice and outcomes of mBC patients as a benchmark for translation of developments into clinical practice in the near future. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Nation-wide population-based cohort study including all patients diagnosed with synchronous metastatic bladder cancer in the Netherlands in 2016-2017, identified through the Netherlands Cancer Registry (NCR). Clinical data on patient and disease characteristics, treatments and survival from the NCR were supplemented with specific information from electronic health records and descriptively analyzed. This study was part of the Prospective Bladder Cancer Infrastructure. RESULTS: Synchronous metastatic bladder cancer was diagnosed in 636 patients in the Netherlands in 2016 and 2017. 35% (221 patients) received systemic treatment, of whom 88 received multiple treatment lines. Most common first-line regimen was carboplatin-based chemotherapy (49%), followed by cisplatin-based chemotherapy (41%) and immunotherapy (8%). Factors associated with systemic treatment were: young age,