Management of muscle invasive, locally advanced and metastatic urothelial carcinoma of the bladder: a literature review with emphasis on the role of surgery

Locally advanced (T3b, T4 and N1−N3) and metastatic urothelial bladder cancer (BCa) is a lethal disease with poor survival outcomes. Combination chemotherapy remains the treatment of choice in patients with metastatic disease and an important part of treatment in addition to radical cystectomy (RC) in patients with locally advanced tumour. Approximately half of patients who underwent RC for muscle invasive BCa relapse after surgery with either local recurrence or distant metastasis. This review focuses on the management of muscle invasive, locally advanced and metastatic BCa with emphasis on the role of surgery; to summarize the current knowledge in order to enhance clinical decision-making and counselling process.