Risk of Local Urethral Recurrence After Radical Cystectomy for Bladder Cancer

Abstract
Radical cystectomy and urinary diversion were performed on 349 patients with transitional cell cancer of the bladder. Follow-up for 4-13 yr revealed that 91 and 83% of the patients were free of urethral recurrence 5 and 10 yr after cystectomy, respectively. Statistical elimination of urethral recurrences did not improve the overall survival rate significantly. It appears that supplementation of cystectomy with simultaneous urethrectomy may not be justified if the urethra is not involved by the cancer.