Risk factors for local recurrence:
(1) positive surgical margins
(2) metastases to lymph nodes
(3) age of the patient >= 68 years
Factors favoring cancer specific survival:
(1) tumor confined to the urinary bladder (pT2 or less)
(2) lymph nodes negative for metastases
(3) cancer <= 3 cm in diameter
(4) negative surgical margins
Factors favoring all cause survival and survival free of distant metastasis:
(1) tumor confined to the urinary bladder (pT2 or less)
(2) lymph nodes negative for metastases
(3) cancer <= 3 cm in diameter
where:
• Radical cystectomy could be curative for a patient with bladder confined tumor (pT2 or less) and this would usually have negative surgical margins.
