Characterization of Late Recurrence After Radical Cystectomy in a Large Multicenter Cohort of Bladder Cancer Patients.

<bold>Objective: </bold>To investigate the characteristics and outcomes of late recurrence (LR) in patients with bladder cancer (BCa) treated with radical cystectomy (RC) and to identify clinicopathologic predictors of LR and postrecurrence survival.<bold>Materials and Methods: </bold>This multicenter study included 1652 BCa patients. LR was defined as occurring more than 5 years after RC. Differences in postrecurrence overall survival according to the timing of disease recurrence and the location of recurrence were calculated using the log-rank test. A logistic regression model was used to identify predictors of LR, and Cox regression models were used to evaluate variables associated with postrecurrence overall survival (OS).<bold>Results: </bold>Overall, 548 patients experienced disease recurrence. Of these, 67 patients (12.2%) experienced LR, with a median time to recurrence of 86 months (interquartile range 70.5-107.2). LR was more likely to be located in the urothelium (P = .005). On multivariable analysis, younger age (P = .008) and non-organ confined disease (P = .03) were found to be predictors of LR. Postrecurrence 5-year OS was worse in patients who experienced early recurrence compared with those with LR (12% vs 25%, P = .02) and in those with nonurothelial recurrence compared to those with disease recurrence in the remaining urothelium (12% vs 51%, P < .001). Older age (P < .001), non-organ confined disease at RC (P = .02), and nonurothelial recurrence site (P = .002) were independently associated with postrecurrence OS.<bold>Conclusion: </bold>LR after RC is an uncommon but non-negligible event that harbors unique characteristics. LR is associated with better OS compared to early recurrence. Our findings reinforce the need for lifelong follow-up of BCa patients after RC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]