ObjectiveTo systematically review the risk factors for intravesical recurrence (IVR) after radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) of upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC).MethodsPubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, CBM, CNKI, VIP and WanFang Data databases were electronically searched to collect case-control studies about the risk factors for IVR after RNU of UTUC from inception to August 2017. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies, then meta-analysis was performed by RevMan 5.3 software.ResultsA total of 23 studies involving 8 614 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that the history of bladder cancer (HR=1.77, 95%CI 1.42 to 2.22, P<0.001), tumor stage (≥T2) (HR=1.41, 95%CI 1.09 to 1.82,P=0.009), ureteral tumor (HR=1.34, 95%CI 1.20 to 1.49, P<0.000 01), tumor multifocality (HR=1.51, 95%CI 1.34 to 1.69,P<0.001), lymphovascular invasion (HR=1.43, 95%CI 1.20 to 1.70,P<0.000 1), laparoscopic surgery (HR=1.52, 95%CI 1.08 to 2.15,P=0.02), positive surgical margins (HR=1.87, 95%CI 1.17 to 2.99, P=0.009), and preoperative ureteroscopy (HR=1.46, 95%CI 1.21 to 1.75, P<0.001) were the risk factors for IVR after RNU.ConclusionsCurrent evidence shows that the risk factors for IVR after RNU include history bladder cancer, tumor stage (≥T2), ureteral tumor, etc. Due to the limited quality of the included studies, more high quality studies are required to verify the above conclusion.
