The role of adjuvant radiotherapy (ART) in patients with bladder cancer (BCa) and upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) is controversial. We systematically evaluated the oncologic efficacy of ART and its associated toxicity in patients treated with surgery and ART for BCa and UTUC.

We performed a literature search on December 2018 using MEDLINE, Web of Science, Cochrane databases and Scopus according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis statement. Fourteen BCa studies and 14 UTUC studies were included in this systematic review. The data were too scarce and heterogeneous for meta-analytical analysis.

The quality and quantity of the data on ART in BCa and UTUC patients are limited. The combination of ART and chemotherapy appears to be beneficial in patients with locally advanced BCa or UTUC. The early and late adverse effects of ART are decreasing reflecting the progress in radiation technology.

According to the currently available literature, there is no clear benefit of ART after radical surgery in BCa and UTUC. Future efforts should focus on evaluating multimodal approach using ART with chemotherapy. Until that time comes, ART should be used carefully in patients with BCa and UTUC on a case-by-case basis.

Urologic oncology. 2019 Jun 26 [Epub ahead of print]

Takehiro Iwata, Shoji Kimura, Mohammad Abufaraj, Florian Janisch, Pierre I Karakiewicz, Veronika Seebacher, Morgan Rouprêt, Yasutomo Nasu, Shahrokh F Shariat

Department of Urology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Urology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan., Department of Urology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Urology, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan., Department of Urology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Special Surgery, Jordan University Hospital, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan., Department of Urology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Urology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany., Division of Urology, Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, University of Montreal Health Center, Montreal, Québec, Canada., Department for Gynaecology and Gynaecologic Oncology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria., Department of Urology, Sorbonne Université, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France., Department of Urology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan., Department of Urology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Urology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY; Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX; Karl Landsteiner Institute of Urology and Andrology, Vienna, Austria; Institute for Urology and Reproductive Health, Sechenov University, Moscow, Russia. Electronic address: .

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