Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Before Radical Cystectomy for Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer: Elective and Eligibility Factors Impacting Utilization.

Introduction: We aimed to assess utilization of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and etiologies for lack of NAC receipt among patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC).

Methods: Patients diagnosed with MIBC undergoing radical cystectomy at a single institution (2005-2021) were included. Patients were categorized by receipt of NAC, and reasons for no NAC were categorized into eligibility and elective factors. Overall survival was analyzed using univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models and modeled with Kaplan-Meier curves.

Results: Three hundred eighty patients with MIBC were included; 154 (40.5%) received NAC. Patients were not candidates for NAC due to renal dysfunction (16.6%), clinical contraindications (4.7%), salvage setting (2.1%), and histology (5.3%; total N = 109). Among 271 (71.3%) who were eligible, utilization increased from early (2005-2016) to recent (2016-2021) time periods (34.2% to 85.7% among NAC-eligible, < .001; 22.8% vs 67.1% among all MIBC, < .001). Elective factors for not receiving NAC included patient symptoms (7.8%), disease progression concern (7.0%), patient preference/refusal (20.3%) and provider discretion (8.1%) among 271 NAC-eligible patients. Notably, patient preference/refusal decreased from 33.6% to 3.4% in recent years ( < .001). On multivariable analysis, lack of NAC utilization due to renal dysfunction (HR 2.18, = .002), clinical contraindications (HR 2.62, = .01), and elective factors (HR 1.88, = .01) were associated with worse overall survival.

Conclusions: NAC utilization increased over time with 85.7% of eligible patients with MIBC receiving NAC in recent years. Renal dysfunction, patient preference, and clinical contraindications were primary etiologies for lack of NAC. Fewer patients refused NAC in recent years leading to a potential ceiling for NAC utilization.