Seminal vesicle-sparing radical cystectomy has been reported to improve short-term functional results without compromising oncological outcomes. However, there is still a lack of data on long-term outcomes after seminal vesicle-sparing radical cystectomy. The aim of this study was to compare oncological and functional outcomes in patients after seminal vesicle-sparing vs nonseminal vesicle-sparing radical cystectomy.
Oncological and functional outcomes of 470 consecutive patients after radical cystectomy and orthotopic ileal reservoir from 2000 to 2017 were evaluated. They were stratified into 6 groups according to nerve-sparing and seminal vesicle-sparing status as attempted during surgery: no sparing at all (55), unilateral nerve sparing (159), bilateral nerve sparing (132), unilateral seminal vesicle-sparing and unilateral nerve sparing (30), unilateral seminal vesicle sparing and bilateral nerve sparing (45), and bilateral seminal vesicle sparing (49) and used propensity modeling to adjust for preoperative differences.
Median followup among the entire cohort was 64 months. Among the 6 groups, our analysis showed no difference in local recurrence-free survival (p=0.173). However, progression-free, cancer-specific and overall survival were more favorable in patients with seminal vesicle-sparing radical cystectomy (p <0.001, p=0.006 and p <0.001, respectively). Proportions of patients with erectile function recovery were higher in the seminal vesicle-sparing groups at all time points in all analyses, respectively, with pronounced earlier recovery in patients with bilateral seminal vesicle sparing. Importantly, patients with seminal vesicle sparing were significantly less in need of erectile aids to achieve erection and intercourse. Over the whole period, daytime urinary-continence was significantly better in the seminal vesicle sparing groups (OR 2.64 to 5.21).
In a highly selected group of patients, seminal vesicle sparing radical cystectomy is oncologically safe and results in excellent functional outcomes that are reached at an earlier time point after surgery and remain superior over a longer period of time.