ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Patients treated with immunotherapy might need surgical procedures in addition to the medical treatment. The main indications are cytoreductive nephrectomy, cystectomy (as part of clinical trials) and metastasis removal in some oligometastatic patients. This study aims to assess the feasibility of surgery for patients treated by immunotherapy and describes the histological modifications found in the pathological analysis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective, monocentric study. We included all patients operated for a urologic cancer and previously treated with systemic immunotherapy between February 2018 and June 2022. We compared this population with a control group of patients treated with surgery without having previous immunotherapy. Patients were compared according to the cancer type, age and sex. We compared perioperative complications. We performed an analysis for evaluation of the peri-tumoral inflammatory infiltration. RESULTS: We included 50 patients in this study. The two groups were comparable in age (63.7 vs. 63.3years old, P=0.95) and sex (4 and 6 women in the first and second group). The peroperatory complication rate was comparable (20% vs. 16%, P=1). The mean bleeding volume was comparable (664 vs. 629mL; P=0.89). The postoperative complication rate (48% vs. 56%; P=0.78) and their grade (Clavien III-IV 8% vs. 24%; P=0.24) were comparable. The anatomopathological analysis described the same rate and intensity of peri-tumoral inflammatory infiltrate (96% vs. 96%; P=1). CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative immunotherapy does not appear to be associated with increased surgical difficulty and perioperative complications. Blind histological analysis of the surgical specimens did not reveal any specific features related to pre operative immunotherapy. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Grade 3 HAS.
