Upper Urinary Tract Carcinoma. Does Tumor Location Matter?

Objective: to investigate the effect of tumor location on surgical and oncological outcomes in patients receiving robot-assisted radical nephroureterectomy (RANU) for upper urinary tract carcinoma (UTUC). Methods: a case-control study of 60 consecutive patients with UTUC who underwent RANU, no exclusions. Patients were divided into two groups based on tumor location: 20 patients (33%) with ureteral tumors (Group 1) and 40 patients (67%) with renal pelvis tumors (Group 2). Demographics, perioperative data, and pathology were analyzed. Cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS) were estimated using Kaplan–Meier and Cox regression analyses. Results: The rates of console time, blood transfusion, and complications were comparable in both groups. Group 1 had longer hospital stays (8.3 days vs. 7.5 days, p = 0.03) and higher readmission rates (20% vs. 5%, p = 0.07). In oncological outcomes, the T-stage distribution was similar. High-grade pathology was present in 72.5% of Group 2 and 50% of Group 1 (p = 0.04). All achieved R0 resection. Over a median 28-month follow-up, 5 patients experienced bladder recurrence (p = 0.5), and 7 (12%) developed distant metastases (p = 0.6). Cancer-specific death occurred in 5 patients, and 4 died from unrelated causes. The CSS and OS rates were 92% and 85%, respectively, with no significant differences between the groups (p = 0.7, p = 0.5). Conclusion: Our current research did not demonstrate that tumor location significantly affects postoperative surgical and oncological outcomes following RANU for UTUC. Additional studies are needed to explore the proposed hypothesis.