Impact of time to second transurethral resection on oncological outcomes of patients with high-grade T1 bladder cancer treated with intravesical Bacillus Calmette–Guerin

Purpose To determine the impact of time to restaging transurethral resection (Re-TUR) on recurrence-free survival (RFS), progression-free survival (PFS), and cancer specific survival (CSS) of patients with high-grade T1 bladder cancer (BC) treated with intravesical Bacillus Calmette–Guerin (BCG). Materials and patients Our prospectively maintained NMIBC databases were queried to identify patients with high-grade T1 BC who underwent Re-TUR before receiving intravesical BCG treatment (induction + 1-year maintenance). Patients were divided into three groups based on time to Re-TUR (group A: ≤ 6 weeks; group B: > 6–12 weeks; group C: > 12–18 weeks). Kaplan–Meier plots were used to estimate differences in RFS, PFS, and CSS. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to assess the impact of time to Re-TUR on oncological outcomes. Results Overall, 269 high-grade T1 BC patients were eligible for the analysis. Nineteen (7.1%) had concomitant CIS. Median follow-up was 49.3 (IQR 25–65) months. Kaplan–Meier plots showed no differences in RFS, PFS, and CSS between the three groups. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that Group B had a slightly better RFS, while the other outcomes were not affected by time to Re-TUR. Conclusions This is the first study testing the role of time to Re-TUR in a homogeneous population of patients with high-grade T1 BC who received complete BCG treatment. The study challenged the concept the sooner the Re-TUR the better, since time to Re-TUR did not significantly affect oncological outcomes.