Risk factors and treatment outcomes of new contralateral upper urinary urothelial carcinoma after nephroureterectomy: the experiences of a large Chinese center

To explore the risk factors and treatment outcomes of contralateral new upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) after nephroureterectomy in a large single-center cohort of UTUC patients.

A retrospective analysis of the clinicopathological data of 509 consecutive patients treated by nephroureterectomy from 2000 to 2010 at a high-volume center in China was conducted.

Thirty-five patients (6.9 %) were found to develop contralateral UTUC. Gross hematuria was a common symptom, and aristolochic acid (AA) containing Chinese herbs was identified as an underlying cause. In multivariate analysis, renal transplant recipients (HR = 16.507) and preoperative renal insufficiency (HR = 2.523) were independent risk factors. No correlation was found in the clinical and pathological characteristics of primary and subsequent contralateral UTUC. A second round of nephroureterectomy should be performed on renal transplant patients, whereas patients who are older, exhibit relatively better renal function, and have tumors that are single, located in the ureter and small size could be treated with nephron-sparing surgery. No survival difference was detected between the two treatment groups, and developing contralateral UTUC was not associated with worse survival.

Contralateral UTUC is comparatively rare, and gross hematuria is a common symptom. Renal transplant history and renal insufficiency are independent risk factors, and prophylactic contralateral nephroureterectomy is considered for uremic UTUC patients with proper renal replacement treatment or renal transplant recipients. These features are likely related to the mechanisms of multifocality of UTUC, and the potential correlation with AA remains to be elucidated. Tumor characteristics and renal function are informative for the decisions concerning surgical options for contralateral UTUC.