Long-Term Follow-Up and Oncological Outcome of Patients Undergoing Radical Cystectomy for Bladder Cancer following an Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) Protocol: Results of a Large Randomized, Prospective, Single-Center Study.

INTRODUCTION: Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) concepts are implemented in various surgical disciplines. For patients undergoing radical cystectomy, prospective data are still rare. In the year 2014, our group could prove significant benefits of ERAS for these patients in a prospective randomized study compared to a conservative regimen. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate long-term follow-up results of ERAS concepts in patients undergoing radical cystectomy for bladder cancer. METHODS: Of the 101 patients who had initially prospectively been randomized to ERAS or a conservative regimen, 35 patients could be included in the study. Median follow-up time was 83 months. Primary end point assessed quality of life. Secondary end points were cancer-specific survival and overall survival. RESULTS: Five to seven years after the initial inclusion to the study, no significant difference regarding quality of life parameters was detected (p values range between 0.112 and 0.970). Continence status in patients with neobladder showed no significant differences between ERAS and conservative regimens (p = 0.785). Cancer-specific survival in the ERAS group did not differ significantly from that in the conservative group (49 vs. 58%, p = 0.725). CONCLUSIONS: While ERAS represents an excellent way to improve postoperative reconvalescence and quality of life in the short-term follow-up, our data do not support the idea that there is also a long-term effect in terms of quality of life issues.