Objectives• To assess the impact of lymphovascular invasion (LVI) on upper urinary tract urothelial carcinomas (UTUCs) in a multicentre study on cancer-specific survival (CSS), recurrence-free survival and metastasis-free survival (MFS). • To show the negative impact of LVI for patients with pN0/x disease and to stratify these patients into risk groups for metastatic relapse. Patients and Methods• A multicentre retrospective study was performed on patients who underwent radical nephroureterectomy between 1995 and 2010.• LVI status was evaluated as a prognostic factor for survival using univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis. Results• Overall, 551 patients were included and were divided into two groups: those without LVI (LVI-), n = 388 and those with LVI (LVI+), n = 163.• LVI+ status was associated with high stage and grade UTUC and lymph node metastasis (P < 0.001).• The 5-year CSS and MFS rates were significantly worse in the LVI+ group than in LVI-group (52.2 vs 84.5%, P < 0.001 and 43.8 vs 82.7%, P < 0.001, respectively).• In multivariate analysis, LVI+ status was an independent prognostic factor for CSS and MFS (P = 0.04 and P < 0.001). These findings were confirmed for the pN0/x patient subgroup (n = 504, P < 0.001).• In the pN0/x patient subgroup, we described a prognostic tool for MFS based on independent factors that permitted us to stratify patients into groups of high, intermediate or low risk of metastasis relapse. Conclusions• The presence of LVI was a strong predictor of a poor outcome for UTUC.• When a lymphadenectomy has not been achieved, the report of LVI status is crucial to identfiy those patients at higher risk for metastatic relapse.

Conservative treatment achieves the objective of renal function preservation for grade IV lesions. Grade V and specific subtypes of grade IV injury have a poor functional outcome. Further study must be performed to determine which patients will benefit from conservative treatment vs early nephrectomy to avoid a longer hospital stay and useless procedures.

Study Type – Prognosis (cohort)Level of Evidence 2bWhat's known on the subject? and What does the study add?Upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UUT‐UC) is a rare disease, usually treated by nephroureterectomy, occurring in a population with a median age of 70 years and with frequent tobacco use and other comorbidities. We know that the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score has prognostic value in urological oncology but this has not been assessed in UUT‐UC.Using a multi‐institutional French database, we have shown that the 5‐year cancer‐specific survival differed significantly between ASA 1, ASA 2 and ASA 3 patients (83.8%, 76.9% and 70.6%, respectively; P= 0.01). ASA status had a significant impact on cancer‐specific survival in univariate and multivariate analyses, with a threefold higher risk of mortality at 5 years for ASA 3 compared with ASA 1 patients (P= 0.04).OBJECTIVE To evaluate the impact of American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) scores on the survival of patients treated with radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) for upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UUT‐UC). PATIENTS AND METHODS A retrospective multi‐institutional cohort study of the French collaborative national database of UUT‐UC treated by RNU in 20 centres from 1995 to 2010. The influence of age, gender and ASA score on survival was assessed using a univariable and multivariable Cox regression analysis with pathological features used as covariables. RESULTS Overall, 554 patients were included. The median follow‐up was 26 months (10–48 months), and the median age was 69.5 years (61–76 years). In total, 114 (20.6%) patients were classified as ASA 1, 326 (58.8%) as ASA 2 and 114 (20.6%) as ASA 3. The 5‐year recurrence‐free survival (P= 0.21) and metastasis‐free survival (P= 0.22) were not significantly different between ASA 1 (52.8% and 76%), ASA 2 (51.9% and 75.3%) and ASA 3 patients (44.1% and 68.2%, respectively). The 5‐year cancer‐specific survival differed significantly between ASA 1, ASA 2 and ASA 3 patients (83.8%, 76.9% and 70.6%, respectively; P= 0.01). ASA status had a significant impact on cancer‐specific survival in univariate and multivariate analyses, with a threefold higher risk of mortality at 5 years for ASA 3 compared with ASA 1 patients (P= 0.04). CONCLUSIONS ASA classification correlates significantly with cancer‐specific survival after RNU for UUT‐UC. It is a further pre‐operative clinical variable that can be incorporated into future risk prediction tools for UUT‐UC to improve their accuracy.