Clinicopathologic and Prognostic Features of Sarcomatoid Urothelial Carcinoma: A Retrospective Study of 136 Patients With Emphasis on Early-Stage (pT1) Disease.

Abstract

Sarcomatoid urothelial carcinoma (SUC) is a rare and aggressive subtype of bladder cancer. We retrospectively analyzed 136 patients diagnosed between 1993 and 2025. Clinicopathologic features, immunophenotype, PD-L1 expression, molecular alterations, and survival outcomes were assessed, with a focus on patients presenting with local low-stage (pT1) disease. The cohort included 96 males and 40 females (median age: 72). Most tumors (77%) were mixed with conventional urothelial carcinoma (UC), and 10% demonstrated heterologous differentiation. Tumor stage, lymphovascular invasion (LVI), and nodal metastasis were significantly associated with poor overall survival (OS; P<0.05). Fifty-four cases had CK5/6 and GATA3 immunohistochemical stains available; a mixed basal-luminal phenotype (CK5/6+/GATA3+) was most common (43%), though immunophenotypic grouping did not significantly impact survival. Twenty-two patients had PD-L1 immunostain performed at diagnosis, and most patients (82%) were PD-L1(+) with a CPS ≥10. Patients with CPS ≥50 trended toward improved OS. Panel-based sequencing was available for 6 patients and revealed heterogeneous mutations with few recurrent alterations. In our cohort, 10 patients had local low-stage (LLS/pT1) SUC, which is rare in SUC. The metastatic rate was 30%, and mortality was 40%. Findings in LLS patients with poor outcomes included large tumor, extensive invasion, tumor necrosis, and heterologous elements. LLS patients who underwent radical cystectomy (RC) had longer OS compared with those treated with transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) alone (P=0.0269). 3/6 survival LLS patients had no residual tumor at RC. Our findings highlight the variable clinical courses of SUC, and call for more attention on this unique group of patients. The absence of residual disease in several pT1 patients following RC suggests that timely RC can have a favorable outcome in a subset of patients.