{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.03749467405198125, 'fraction_numerical': 0.021303792074989347, 'mean_word_length': 5.082901554404145, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 1, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Impact of radiotherapy facility volume on the management and survival of patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer receiving bladder-preserving therapy.

18 Background: Higher facility surgical volume predicts for improved survival in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) who undergo radical cystectomy. Here, we investigated the association between facility radiotherapy (RT) case volume and compliance with National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines as well as overall survival (OS) for patients with MIBC receiving radiation-based bladder preservation. Methods: The National Cancer Database (NCDB) was used to identify patients who were diagnosed with non-metastatic MIBC from 2004 to 2015 and received RT at the reporting institution. Patient, tumor, and treatment characteristics were recorded. Facility RT case volume was defined as the summed MIBC cases treated with RT during the study period. Facilities were divided into high or low volume groups at the 80th percentile of RT case volume. We compared compliance with NCCN guidelines regarding total RT dose of at least 55 Gy, use of TURBT prior to RT, and planned use of concurrent chemotherapy using the χ2 test. OS was assessed using Kaplan-Meier method. A Cox proportional hazard model was used to evaluate predictors of survival. Results: There were 7,562 included patients, and 3,816 (50.5%) were treated at a high-volume center. Median RT case volume was 21 for high-volume centers versus 8 cases for low-volume centers. Higher rates of compliance with all three NCCN recommendations were observed at high-volume centers (48% vs 41%, P< .0001). Age, sex, tumor stage, nodal status, Charlson Comorbidity Index, insurance status, and use of a TURBT prior to RT were predictive of survival. Volume as a continuous variable was an independent predictor of OS ( P= .002). Treatment at a high-volume facility was associated with significantly greater OS for all patients (log-rank P= .001), including patients with a Charlson Comorbidity Index of 0 ( P= .012). Further division of facilities into quartiles revealed incremental improvement in OS with higher facility volume ( P= .001). Conclusions: Bladder preservation treatment at a high-volume facility is associated with greater guideline-concordant management and improved OS among patients with MIBC.