Effect of African-American Race on Tumor Recurrence After Radical Cystectomy for Urothelial Carcinoma of the Bladder

BackgroundAfrican-American race appears to be associated with higher stages of urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB) at presentation and poorer survival. However, the independent effect of African-American race on objective tumor recurrence after radical cystectomy (RC) after controlling for clinical and pathologic variables is unknown.Patients and MethodsThe data from consecutive patients with UCB who underwent RC with curative intent at a single institution (University of Alabama, Birmingham) from 2001 to 2012 with or without perioperative chemotherapy or chemoradiation were reviewed. The patient demographics, risk factors, clinical course, pathologic characteristics, and long-term outcomes were collected. Descriptive statistics were performed. Cox regression analysis was performed for key clinical, demographic, and pathologic variables, including race, stratified as African American versus white.ResultsA total of 215 patients, 163 men (76%) and 52 women (24%), with a mean age at RC of 65.6 years, were identified and reviewed. A total of 186 patients (87%) were white and 28 (13%) were African American. The median follow-up period after RC was 17.6 months. On conventional multivariate analysis, African-American race nearly attained statistical significance (hazard ratio [HR], 2.48; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.98-6.29; P = .055). In a stepwise regression model, race was significantly associated with tumor recurrence (HR, 3.11; 95% CI, 1.2-7.4; P < .011).ConclusionAfrican-American race appears to be independently associated with a greater risk of tumor recurrence after RC for UCB. The effect of host genetics on tumor biology needs to be characterized at the genomic level to develop precision medicine.