Background: Patients (pts) undergoing radical surgery for MIUC face a high risk of disease recurrence. Recurrence is associated with worse survival, but its effect on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is unclear. This post hoc analysis assessed the impact of recurrence on HRQoL using data from the phase 3 CheckMate 274 trial. Methods: Pts who had undergone radical surgery for high-risk MIUC (≤ 120 days previously) were randomized 1:1 to nivolumab 240 mg Q2W or placebo for ≤ 1 year. HRQoL was assessed using the EORTC QLQ-C30 and EQ-5D-3L every 4–6 weeks during treatment; 35 and 115 days after the last dose; and every 3 months after that until the end of the study (EQ-5D-3L only). The analysis included pts with a valid HRQoL assessment at baseline and at ≥1 post-baseline visits. Confirmed deterioration in HRQoL was defined as worsening exceeding an a priori points threshold (± 10 for the EORTC QLQ-C30 domains, –7 for the EQ-5D visual analogue scale [VAS]) at ≥ 2 consecutive visits. Recurrence was classified as local only or distant (with or without local recurrence). The effect of recurrence on HRQoL deterioration was assessed by Cox proportional hazards regression with recurrence as a time-dependent covariate. The models controlled for treatment arm and baseline HRQoL score, and were stratified by PD-L1 expression, pathologic nodal status, and use of neoadjuvant cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Results: The analysis included 645 pts for EORTC QLQ-C30, of whom 71 (11%) had local recurrence only and 136 (21%) had distant recurrence during the HRQoL assessment period; and 648 pts for EQ-5D-3L. with recurrence had a significantly higher risk of confirmed deterioration in all HRQoL domains than those without recurrence (see table). However, hazard ratios were consistently greater for distant recurrence than for local recurrence across all HRQoL domains. For local recurrence only, a higher risk of confirmed deterioration in HRQoL compared to no recurrence was observed only for global health status/QoL. Conclusions: Recurrence, particularly distant recurrence, had a significant, negative impact on HRQoL. This suggests that treatment delaying recurrence after radical surgery for high-risk MIUC may prevent or delay HRQoL deterioration in these pts. Clinical trial information: NCT02632409

Bold values denote P < 0.05.