Variation in Follow-Up after Radical Cystectomy for Bladder Cancer—An Inventory Roundtable and Literature Review

background: follow-up after radical cystectomy (RC) for bladder cancer can be divided into oncological and functional surveillance. it remains unclear how follow-up after RC should ideally be scheduled. the aim of this report was to gain insight into the organization of follow-up after RC in europe, for which we conducted a roundtable inventory within the EAU young academic urologists urothelial cancer working group. methods: an inventory semi-structured survey was performed among urologists of the EAU young academic urologists urothelial cancer working group to describe the organization of follow-up. the surveys were analyzed using a deductive approach. similarities and differences in follow-up after RC for bladder cancer were described. results: the survey included 11 urologists from six different european countries. an institutional follow-up scheme was used by six (55%); three (27%) used a national or international guideline, and two (18%) indicated that there was no defined follow-up scheme. major divergent aspects included the time points of follow-up, the frequency, and the end of follow-up. six centers (55%) adopted a risk-adapted follow-up approach tailored to (varying) patient and tumor characteristics. laboratory tests and CT scans were used in all cases; however, the intensity and frequency varied. functional follow-up overlapped with oncological follow-up in terms of frequency and duration. patient-reported outcome measures were only used by two (18%) urologists. conclusions: substantial variability exists across european centers regarding the follow-up after RC for bladder cancer. this highlights the need for an international analysis focusing on its organization and content as well as on opportunities to improve patients’ needs during follow-up after RC.