Bladder cancer surgery specialist centres NSW
Criteria for a specialist bladder cancer centre
Surgery for bladder cancer is a complex procedure which requires a team of health care professionals with suitable experience performing this surgery and providing supportive care after surgery.[1-2]
Australian and international studies suggest that patient outcomes can be improved when bladder cancer surgery is performed in centres that do a high number of these procedures.[3-4] A cystectomy is surgery to remove the urinary bladder.[2] For these recommendations partial cystectomies are not counted.
It is recommended that specialist bladder cancer centres perform 6 cystectomies per year*.
* This minimum suggested annual surgical caseload has been recommended based on international studies and local clinical advisory group endorsement.
Availability of a multidisciplinary cancer care team
Patients with bladder cancer may have one or more types of treatments, including surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy.
The involvement of a multidisciplinary cancer care team is required.[3] This team brings together health care professionals from different specialties to discuss a patient’s cancer diagnosis and staging, and their treatment options. It also enhances communication and care co-ordination between the specialists involved in a patient’s care.
International studies show that patients overseen by a multidisciplinary cancer care team experience better outcomes after cancer treatment.[5-6]
Patient referral
Patients with a suspected or confirmed bladder cancer should be referred to a specialist who is a member of a multidisciplinary cancer care team, and practices at one of the specialist centres listed below.
Even if surgery does not seem likely at the time of referral, involvement of an appropriate a multidisciplinary team (MDT) early in the cancer journey is recommended to ensure optimal assessment, care, and outcomes.
The Canrefer website allows you to find cancer specialists who are MDT members, and has information about cancer services, optimal care pathways, and patient resources.
Smoking cessation support
Evidence suggests that tobacco cessation following cancer diagnosis improves survival. It also reduces treatment-related complications.[7-8] Health professionals should discuss tobacco use with all patients and provide appropriate cessation support.
List of public specialist centres for bladder cancer surgery
| Local health district | Hospital | Annual average bladder resection caseload Jan 2023 - Dec 2024 | Multidisciplinary cancer care team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunter New England | John Hunter Hospital | 8–to10 | Hunter New England Urological Cancer MDT |
| South Western Sydney | Liverpool Hospital | 8–to10 | Liverpool-Macarthur Cancer Therapy Centre Urological Cancer MDT |
| Sydney | Royal Prince Alfred Hospital | 8–10 | Royal Prince Alfred Urological Cancer MDT |
| Western Sydney | Westmead Hospital | 8–10 | Western Sydney Local Health District Urological Cancer MDT |
| Nepean Blue Mountains | Nepean Hospital | 6–to7 | Nepean Cancer Care Centre Urological Cancer MDT |
| Illawarra Shoalhaven | Wollongong Hospital | 6–to7 | Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District Urological Cancer MDT |
| Central Coast | Gosford Hospital | 6–to7 | Gosford Hospital Urological Cancer MDT |
| Northern Sydney | Royal North Shore Hospital (campus model with North Shore Private Hospital) | 1–to5 | Royal North Shore Hospital Urological Cancer MDT |
List of private specialist centres for bladder cancer surgery
| Local health district | Hospital | Annual average bladder resection caseload Jul 2021-Jun 2023 | Multidisciplinary cancer care team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Sydney | Macquarie University | 15-20 | Macquarie University Hospital Cancer Program Urological Cancer MDT |
| South Eastern Sydney | Hurstville Private | 11-14 | - |
| St Vincent's Health Network | St Vincent's Private | 8-10 | The Kinghorn Cancer Centre Urological Cancer MDT |
| Northern Sydney | North Shore Private | 8-10 | Royal North Shore Hospital Urological Cancer MDT |
| Northern Sydney | Sydney Adventist Private | 6-7 | Sydney Adventist Hospital Urological Cancer MDT |
| Hunter New England | Lake Macquarie Private | 6-7 | Hunter New England Urological Cancer MDT |
| Sydney | Chris O'Brien Lifehouse | 6-7 | Lifehouse Kidney Bladder and Testicular Cancer MDT |
Codes
- Surgical caseload data sourced from Admitted Patient, Emergency Department Attendance, and Deaths Register (APEDDR) via Secure Analytics for Population Health Research and Intelligence (SAPHaRI), Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence, NSW Ministry of Health.
- In-scope diagnoses: C67
- In-scope procedures: 37014–to00
References
- Sui W, Hall ME, Barocas DA, Chang SS, Luckenbaugh AN, Moses KA, et al. Association Between Surgical Volume and Survival Among Patients With Variant Histologies of Bladder Cancer. Urology. 2022;159:100–to6.
- Witjes JA, Bruins HM, Cathomas R, Compérat EM, Cowan NC, Gakis G, et al. European Association of Urology guidelines on muscle-invasive and metastatic bladder cancer: summary of the 2020 guidelines. European urology. 2021;79(1):82–to104.
- Bruins HM, Veskimäe E, Hernandez V, Neuzillet Y, Cathomas R, Comperat EM, et al. The importance of hospital and surgeon volume as major determinants of morbidity and mortality after radical cystectomy for bladder cancer: a systematic review and recommendations by the European Association of Urology Muscle-invasive and Metastatic Bladder Cancer Guideline Panel. European urology oncology. 2020;3(2):131–to44.
- Leow JJ, Leong EK, Serrell EC, Chang SL, Gruen RL, Png KS, et al. Systematic review of the volume–outcome relationship for radical prostatectomy. European urology focus. 2018;4(6):775–to89.
- González-del-Alba A, Conde-Moreno AJ, García Vicente AM, González-Peramato P, Linares-Espinós E, Climent MÁ, et al. Management of patients with metastatic bladder cancer in the real-world setting from the multidisciplinary team: Current opinion of the SOGUG multidisciplinary working group. Cancers. 2022;14(5):1130.
- Walraven JE, Ripping TM, Oddens JR, van Rhijn BW, Goossens‐Laan CA, Hulshof MC, et al. The influence of multidisciplinary team meetings on treatment decisions in advanced bladder cancer. BJU international. 2023;131(2):244–to52.
- Jassem J. Tobacco smoking after diagnosis of cancer: clinical aspects. Translational lung cancer research. 2019;8(Suppl 1):S50.
- Warren GW, Alberg AJ, Cummings KM, Dresler C. Smoking cessation after a cancer diagnosis is associated with improved survival. Journal of Thoracic Oncology. 2020;15(5):705–to8.
- Heuser C, Schellenberger B, Ernstmann N, Diekmann A, Krüger E, Schreiber L, et al. Shared-Decision-Making Experiences in Breast Cancer Care with and without Patient Participation in Multidisciplinary Tumor Conferences: A Mixed-Methods-Study. Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare. 2023:397–to409.
- Orlowski C, Lai J, Vereker M, Antill Y, Richardson G, White M, et al. Impact of multidisciplinary team meetings on the management of patients with breast cancer in a large private healthcare facility. Asia‐Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2023.
