MORBIDITY AFTER PREOPERATIVE RADIOTHERAPY AND CYSTECTOMY IN PATIENTS WITH BLADDER-CANCER

The therapy-related morbidity was evaluated in 121 patients with muscl e-invasive or recurrent superficial bladder cancer treated with radiot herapy and cystectomy. In 103 patients cystectomy succeeded 39-52 Gray (Gy) preoperative irradiation and in 18 patients cystectomy was done as a salvage procedure after previous full-dose radiotherapy. The over all frequency of complications was high; 71% of the patients treated w ith preoperative and 78% treated with full-dose radiotherapy had clini cally relevant complications related to radiotherapy or surgery or bot h. The rate of intestinal complications was 39% for preoperative and 6 7% for full-dose radiotherapy. The overall mortality rate in intestina l complications was 3.3%. This study shows that the combination of rad iotherapy and radical surgery in patients with bladder cancer is assoc iated with a high rate of intestinal complications. The complications are significantly related to the irradiation dose and are long lasting and even life threatening.