Bladder cancer mortality after a diagnosis of nonmuscle-invasive bladder carcinoma

Aim: To assess mortality from bladder cancer following a diagnosis of nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer. Materials & methods: This is a SEER registry-based study. The risk of death from bladder cancer was compared with that of the general population. Cox proportional model was performed to calculate the hazard ratio (HR) for death according to baseline characteristics. Results: The bladder cancer-specific mortality at 20 years was 11%; and it was higher for black patients compared with white patients (adjusted HR: 1.711 [95% CI: 1.564-1.872]; p < 0.0001); additionally, it was higher for patients older than 70 years old compared with younger patients (adjusted HR: 2.005 [95% CI: 1.916-2.099]; p < 0.0001). The risk of bladder cancer mortality increased after diagnosis of a recurrent bladder cancer (both nonmuscle-invasive and muscle-invasive; adjusted HR: 6.97 [95% CI: 6.56-7.40]; p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Important predictors for death from bladder cancer following a diagnosis of nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer include older age at diagnosis and black race.