Prognostic Role of Preoperative Neutrophil-To-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) and Recurrence at First Evaluation after Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) Induction in Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer

Abstract

We investigated the prognosis of BCG induction-only treatment and non-complete response (CR) at the first 3-month evaluation and examined factors associated with CR. In total, 209 patients with moderate- and high-risk NMIBC who received BCG induction-only treatment between 2008 and 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were assessed based on the initial NMIBC stage. PFS and associated factors of non-CR compared to CR were also assessed. Initial T1 high-grade (HG) (n = 93) had poorer RFS and PFS after BCG induction-only treatment than Ta low-grade (LG) (p = 0.029, p = 0.002). Non-CR (n = 37) had a different neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (2.81 ± 1.02 vs. 1.97 ± 0.92) and T staging from CR (p < 0.001, p = 0.008). T1HG recurrence was associated with a worse PFS compared to non-T1HG (13.7 months vs. 101.7 months, p < 0.001). There was no difference in PFS between T1HG and T1LG. T1 and NLR were predictors of response at 3 months in multivariable analysis (p = 0.004, p = 0.029). NLR was also found to be an associated factor with RFS and PFS of bladder cancer (p < 0.001, p < 0.001). BCG induction-only treatment was effective for high-risk TaLG but not for T1HG. T1HG recurrence at 3 months after BCG induction has a poor prognosis for bladder cancer. Preoperative NLR and T1 were predictors of non-CR, and NLR was also associated with the long-term prognosis of bladder cancer.