Association between lymphovascular invasion and oncological outcome in node-negative upper tract urothelial carcinoma with different stage

Objectives: To evaluate the prognostic impact of lymphovascular invasion (LVI) on node-negative upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) in patients treated with radical nephroureterectomy (RNU). Materials and methods: A retrospective study was performed in single tertiary referral center of middle Taiwan between 2001 and 2015. Seven hundred and twenty-eight patients were diagnosed of UTUC and underwent RNU with ipsilateral bladder cuff excision including 303 and 195 patients with N0 and Nx status respectively. LVI status was assessed as a prognostic factor for cancer-specific (CSS) and overall survival (OS) using univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis. Results: LVI was observed in 82 patients (16.5%). LVI presentation associated with smoking status, advanced tumor stage, high tumor grade, positive surgical margin, and consequence lung/liver/bone metastasis. In the multivariate analysis, LVI was failed to predict CSS, OS, and disease-free survival (DFS) (hazard ratio [HR] [95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.07 [0.55–2.09], 1.05 [0.62–1.79], 1.15 [0.69–1.92], in CSS, OS, DFS, respectively). In the subgroup analysis of pT1-2 disease, the CSS, OS, and DFS were associated with LVI status (HR [95% CI]: 2.29 [0.44–11.84], 3.17 [1.16–8.67], 2.66 [1.04–6.79], in CSS, OS, DFS, respectively). In contrast, there was no difference in pT3 disease. Conclusion: In conclusion, LVI status was not associated with survival outcomes of node-negative UTUC in our study. The subgroup analysis showed different prognostic impacts of LVI status in node-negative UTUC with T1-2 and T3 stage. Further evidence to clarify the prognostic effect is needed to make LVI became a practical factor in clinical decision-making.