The Role of Metastasectomy in Urothelial Carcinoma: Where Are We in 2020?

Clin Genitourin Cancer. 2020 Aug;18(4):e478-e483. doi: 10.1016/j.clgc.2020.01.003. Epub 2020 Jan 27.

Abstract

Systemic therapy is the mainstay of treatment for metastatic urothelial carcinoma (UC). Responses to first-line platinum-based therapy tend to be short-lived with potential toxicity. Despite the approval of checkpoint inhibitors, the long-term prognosis for patients with metastatic UC remains dismal. Herein we report the case of a patient with a solitary pulmonary metastatic lesion of urothelial origin as the only site of metastatic disease who remained free of disease for more than 2 years without systemic therapy after metastasectomy. We review the literature discussing the role of combined surgical and medical management of oligometastatic UC. As our case illustrates, a growing body of evidence suggests a potential role for a multimodal approach in patients with oligometastatic UC.

Keywords: Bladder cancer; Lung metastasis; Lymph node metastasis; Oligometastasis; Upper tract urothelial carcinoma.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Metastasectomy / methods*
  • Prognosis
  • Urologic Neoplasms / secondary
  • Urologic Neoplasms / surgery*