Objective      To determine the effect of ureteroscopy (URS) prior to radical nephroureterectomy on the long-term prognosis in treatment of upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). Methods      Computer retrieval was carried out in PubMed

EMBase

Cochrane library

China Biology Medicine disc (CBM)

WanFang Data

VIP database

and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) from establishment until February 29

2016 for prospective or retrospective studies on the effect of URS on the prognosis of UTUC. All the collected researches were analyzed by 2 reviewers independently according to our inclusion and exclusion criteria. The quality of the literature was assessed

and the extracted data was systematically analyzed for corresponding hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) by using Stata 12. Results      Thirteen retrospective studies were eligible

including 4 105 patients. The pooled HR of recurrencefree survival (RFS) was not significant in the univariate analysis (HR=0.93

95%CI: 0.73～1.13) or the multivariate analysis  (HR=1.13

95%CI: 0.90～1.36). The pooled HR of intravesical recurrence-free survival (IRFS) was HR=1.13

95%CI: 0.82～1.43 in the univariate analysis and HR=1.54

95%CI: 0.97～2.12 in the multivariate analysis. The pooled HR of cancer specific survival (CSS) was significant in the univariate analysis (HR=0.68

95%CI: 0.48～0.88)

but not in the multivariate analysis  (HR=0.83

95%CI: 0.54～1.12). The pooled HR of overall survival (OS) was not significant in the univariate  (HR=0.87

95%CI: 0.46～1.27). Conclusion      Based on our meta-analysis of current evidence

the performance of URS prior to radical nephroureterectomy for UTUC has no adverse effect on longterm recurrence and survival.