MICROPAPILLARY BLADDER CARCINOMA: A CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL STUDY OF 20 CASES

PURPOSE: Micropapillary bladder carcinoma is rare, with only 18 cases reported to date. We report 20 additional cases with long-term followup. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 680 patients with an initial diagnosis of bladder carcinoma in western Sweden in 1987 and 1989 were prospectively registered. The clinical records of all 816 patients with bladder cancer treated at Sahlgrenska University Hospital with external beam irradiation between 1962 and 1989 were reviewed. The histopathological material was reviewed and immuno-histochemical analyses were performed on 20 cases identified with micropapillary bladder carcinoma. RESULTS: The incidence of micropapillary bladder carcinoma was 0.7%. Mean patient age at diagnosis was 69 years (range 45 to 82) and the male-to-female ratio was 2.3:1. All but 5 patients had stage T3a disease or higher. There was no difference in stage or prognosis between the 5 prospectively identified patients and those treated with external beam irradiation. Only 2 patients had micropapillary bladder carcinoma as the only pattern, while 1 had 10% and the remainder had 20 to 95% micropapillary bladder carcinoma. Transitional cell carcinoma was noted in 17 patients and 5 had areas of gland forming adenocarcinoma. Carcinoma in situ was noted in 13 patients and 15 had lymphatic invasion. Only 5 patients survived 5 years, 1 of whom died of bladder cancer after 7 years. Radiation and chemotherapy did not seem to be effective. CONCLUSIONS: The light microscopic appearance, which is strikingly similar to ovarian papillary serous carcinoma, and immunohistochemical staining pattern lend some support to the theory that micropapillary bladder carcinoma is a variant of adenocarcinoma. Since even the focal presence of micropapillary bladder carcinoma is associated with a poor prognosis, recognition of this entity is important. Due to its rarity, the optimal treatment of micropapillary bladder carcinoma needs to be determined in a multicenter study.     

Local recurrence of micropapillary bladder tumor after radical cystectomy : successful treatment with radiation therapy : a case report

A 75-year-old man consulted a physician because of gross hematuria and right flank pain. Since a bladder tumor and right hydronephrosis were found, the patient was referred to our hospital. The clinical diagnosis was cT3bN0M0 and radical cystectomy was done. The pathological diagnosis was micropapillary variant of urothelial carcinoma, pT3bN0M0. The local recurrence appeared in the interior of the pelvis by computed tomography after the operation. A complete response was obtained by radiotherapy.     

Micropapillary variant of transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder

A 77-year-old man visited the Kobe City General Hospital complaining of macroscopic hematuria. A computed tomography scan found a bladder tumor with left iliac and para-aortic lymph node metastasis. Two courses of cisplatin, cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin chemotherapy resulted in a minimal response. Radical cystectomy and a retroperitoneal lymph node dissection with bilateral ureterocutaneostomy reconstruction were then performed. A pathological examination revealed a micropapillary variant of transitional cell carcinoma (Grade 3, pT1pN2M1). The patient died of pelvic recurrence 7 months after the initiation of chemotherapy. Peritonitis carcinomatosa and lung metastases were observed at autopsy.     

A case of micropapillary bladder carcinoma

A case of urothelial carcinoma containing micropapillary variant in the urinary bladder is reported. The micropapillary bladder carcinoma isa rare variant of urothelial carcinoma and has an aggressive clinical course. A 45-year-old man complained of hematuria in October, 2009. He visited a hospital and was diagnosed with a bladder tumor. Transurethral resection of the bladder tumor was performed at the hospital. The transurethral resection demonstrated poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma invading the bladder muscle layer. Then he consulted our hospital. Our pathologist diagnosed the case as micropapillary variant of urothelial carcinoma in the urinary bladder. Accordingly, radical cystectomy and pelvic lymph nodes dissection were performed. After the operation, he received three courses of gemcitabine and cisplatin as adjuvant chemotherapy. The patient remains free of tumor recurrence and metastasis for 28 months after the cystectomy.     

The impact of variant histology on the outcome of bladder cancer treated with curative intent

Patient risk stratification is essential for optimal management of patients with bladder cancer. Risk status determines the application and timing of therapeutic interventions such as repeat transurethral resection, intravesical chemo- and immunotherapy, systemic chemotherapy, and radical cystectomy. One key factor in such risk stratification appears to be the presence of variant histologic patterns in the bladder tumor. More than 90% of tumors are conventional urothelial carcinoma, and the rest consist of urothelial carcinoma with aberrant differentiation (squamous/glandular differentiation, small cell carcinoma, sarcomatoid carcinoma, and micropapillary carcinoma) or nonurothelial carcinoma (squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma). In this review, we focus on the implications of aberrant differentiation on the management of patients with bladder cancer. All of the variant histologies portend a worse prognosis than pure urothelial carcinoma. Although radical cystectomy remains the mainstay of treatment in all forms of bladder cancer, we highlight the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with subtypes responsive to such therapy.     

Clinical Stage T1 micropapillary urothelial carcinoma presenting with metastasis to the pancreas

Micropapillary carcinoma of the bladder is an extremely aggressive variant of urothelial carcinoma. Radical cystectomy is the standard treatment for all patients, including those with nonmuscle-invasive disease. We present a patient diagnosed with clinical Stage T1 micropapillary carcinoma of the bladder who was found to have a 2-cm metastasis to the head of the pancreas. To our knowledge, this case represents the first report of a solitary metastatic urothelial carcinoma to the pancreas.     

Micropapillary carcinoma of the urinary bladder: a case report and review of the literature

Micropapillary carcinoma is an uncommon variant of urothelial carcinoma with high metastatic potential. The presence of micropapillary carcinoma component in bladder biopsies should alert urologists to its aggressive behaviour. We report the case of a 70-year-old man who presented with macroscopic hematuria lasting 2 weeks. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a bladder tumour in the dome area extended to perivascular adipose. The transurethral biopsy showed a high-grade micropapillary carcinoma with muscle invasion. Radical cystectomy with lymph node dissection was then performed. The pathological examination revealed a high-grade purely micropapillary carcinoma invading the perivesical adipose. No tumour recurrence or metastasis were reported at the 6-month follow-up.     

Soft tissue metastases by micropapillary bladder carcinoma. Metastatic disease

Micropapillary transitional cell carcinoma is a rare (incidence of 0.7%) and highly aggressive variant of bladder carcinoma. Morphologically, it is characterized by small tight clusters of neoplastic cell floating in clear spaces resembling lymphatic channels. Its usual presentation is like a high grade and stage carcinoma and most often is associated with a variable component of conventional carcinoma or other variants. The usual sites of bladder cancer metastases are the lymph nodes, lungs, bone and liver. Soft tissues metastases from transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder occur infrequently. We report the cases of a 77-year-old man presenting with an abdominal soft tissue mass a six years after local excision of a micropapillary bladder carcinoma.     

Micropapillary urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder: A clinicopathological analysis of 24 cases

Objectives: To stratify patients with micropapillary urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder based on the percentage of micropapillary component and to correlate tumor volume with other clinicopathological features. Methods: Cases of micropapillary urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder from 2002 to 2009 were identified. Only patients with available follow‐up information were included in the analysis. Tumor volumes were stratified based on the percentage of micropapillary component (<50%, >50% and 100%). Results: Overall, 24 cases were analyzed. Mean patient age was 71 years (range 55–86 years), with a male to female ratio of 3:1. Six cases (6/24; 25%) were composed entirely of micropapillary component. A total of 12 cases (12/24; 50%) showed >50% micropapillary component. Six cases (6/24; 25%) showed <50% micropapillary component. A higher percentage of micropapillary urothelial carcinoma component was significantly associated with male sex, regional lymph node metastasis and pathological stage (P‐values = 0.0005, 0.01 and 0.03, respectively). The percentage of the micropapillary component was, however, unrelated to patients' survival. Conclusions: The present study confirms that micropapillary urothelial bladder carcinoma is typically aggressive and presents with advanced stage disease in most cases. A quantification of the micropapillary component is to be recommended. An accurate diagnosis of this entity in relatively small biopsies or transurethral resection of bladder tumor specimens is especially critical to define the best treatment plan.     

Micropapillary variant of mucinous breast carcinoma: A distinct subtype

Invasive micropapillary carcinoma of the breast is a subtype with high malignant potential characterized by lymphovascular invasion (LVI) and a predilection for axillary lymph node (AXLN) metastases. In contrast, pure mucinous breast carcinoma (MBC) is relatively indolent with low metastatic potential. Recent studies have described a histologic variant of breast cancer that displays combined mucinous and micropapillary patterns, ie, micropapillary variant of mucinous carcinoma (MpVMBC). This underrecognized variant is, as yet, incompletely characterized clinicopathologically. Extant reports suggest a more aggressive lesion than pure MBC with greater propensity for both LVI and AXLN metastases. Here we present our institution's experience with MpVMBCs including clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical (IHC) analyses. Greater awareness and recognition of this variant could positively contribute to patient care by (1) avoiding underestimation of malignant potential for individuals whose tumors may have been diagnosed as simply “MBC, not otherwise specified”, and (2) recommending a postsurgical adjuvant approach emphasizing the hormone receptor targets, even perhaps in younger women presenting with AXLN positive disease.     

Variant histologies in bladder cancer: Does the centre have an impact in detection accuracy?

ObjectiveTo compare the accuracy in detecting variant histologies (VH) at transurethral resection of bladder (TURB) and radical cystectomy (RC) specimen among tertiary referral centres, in order to investigate potential reasons of discrepancies from the pathological point of view.Patients and MethodsClinical and histopathological data of TURB specimen and subsequent cystectomy specimen of 3,445 RC candidate patients have been retrospectively collected from 24 tertiary referral centres between 1980 and 2021. VH considered in the analysis were pure squamous cell carcinoma, urothelial carcinoma with squamous differentiation, pure adenocarcinoma, urothelial carcinoma with glandular differentiation, micropapillary bladder cancer (BCa), neuroendocrine BCa, and other variants. The degree of agreement between TURB and RC concerning the identification of VH was expressed as concordance, classified according to Cohen's kappa coefficient.ResultsA VH was reported in 17% of TURB specimens, 45% of which were not confirmed in RC. The lowest concordance rate was reported for micropapillary BCa with 11 out of 18 (61%) centres reporting no agreement, whereas neuroendocrine BCa achieved the highest concordance rate with only 3 centres (17%) reporting no agreement. Our results shows that even among centres with the advantage of a referent uropathologist the micropapillary variant is characterized by scarce accuracy between TURB and RC. Differences in TURB specimen acquisition by the urologist and in sampling methods among different centres are the main limitations of the study.ConclusionsAccuracy of TURB in detecting VH is poor for certain VH, in particular for micropapillary BCa, with evident variation among centres. Novel diagnostic tools are required to better identify these VH and drive patients toward a personalized treatment.     

Invasive micropapillary carcinoma of the ampulla of Vater with extensive lymph node metastasis: Report of a case

Invasive micropapillary carcinoma is characterized by extensive lymph node metastasis and a poor prognosis. This histological variant was first described in breast cancer, with a few subsequent reports of it in the ampullo-pancreato-biliary region. We report a case of invasive micropapillary carcinoma of the papilla of Vater. A 53-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with signs of obstructive jaundice. Detailed investigations revealed a tumor in the periampullary region, and pancreatoduodenectomy was performed for cancer of the ampulla of Vater. Microscopic examination of the resected specimen revealed a tumor composed mainly of carcinoma cells arranged in micropapillary structures, with extensive regional lymph node metastasis. The patient had an uneventful postoperative course and was followed up in the outpatient clinic. Tumor recurrence with progressive ascites and hydronephrosis was found 8 months after surgery, and the patient died of the disease 20 months after surgery.     

Skin involvement from micropapillary bladder carcinoma as the first clinical manifestation of metastatic disease

Cutaneous metastases from transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the bladder occur infrequently. We report the case of a 68-year-old man presenting with an isolated skin nodule a few weeks after local excision of a micropapillary bladder carcinoma. This rare variant of TCC, which is strikingly reminiscent of the histological pattern of ovarian papillary serous carcinoma, is associated with poor prognosis and apparently high metastatic potential.     

Micropapillary carcinoma of the bladder: case report and review of the literature

Micropapillary carcinoma is an uncommon pathologic variant of bladder carcinoma with aggressive behavior. Its usual presentation is like a high grade and high stage carcinoma and associated with other histologic types in different proportion. It doesn't differ clinically from normal transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. Studies of molecular markers are still contradictories. Treatment should be early and aggresive, based on surgical therapy as radiotherapy and chemotherapy have shown limited results. We report a 72 year old man suffering from low urinary tract symptoms for years and recently presented gross hematuria. He was diagnosed as high stage micropapillary carcinoma. One year after radical cystectomy and subsequent chemotherapy based on carboplatin and gemcitabine, progression of the disease was shown on CT and the patient died 14 months after the diagnosis.     

Positron emission tomography detected thyroid incidentaloma

We describe the case of a 48-year-old woman who presented with a thyroid lesion incidentally detected on positron emission tomography/computed tomography for a suspicious lung lesion. Subsequent clinical examination and investigations revealed a 3cm nodule in the left lower pole of the thyroid. Fine needle aspiration was indeterminate for malignancy. A left hemithyroidectomy was performed and histology confirmed a benign thyroid adenoma with an incidental micropapillary carcinoma. The literature regarding the best management for thyroid incidentalomas remains uncertain and, as such, each patient must be managed on an individual basis.     

Recurrence of bladder cancer in fossa navicularis 17 months after cystourethrectomy: a case report

We report a case of bladder cancer recurrence in fossa navicularis of urethra 17 months after cystourethrectomy for bladder cancer. A 75-year-old man had undergone cystourethrectomy preserving between fossa navicularis and external meatus, and ileal conduit urinary diversion for advanced bladder cancer on June 24, 2002. Histopathological findings showed urothelial carcinoma, G2>G3, pT1N0. The patient had been followed regularly for 17 months without evidence of recurrence until he suffered the onset of hemorrhagic urethral discharge. Endoscopic examination of the residual urethra showed multiple, papillary sessile tumors which almost filled the fossa navicularis. He was admitted to our hospital on December 15, 2003. The urethral wash cytology revealed urothelial carcinoma. Since computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and bone scintigraphy showed no evidence of lymph node and distant metastasis, partial penectomy was performed. Histopathological findings showed urothelial carcinoma pTa, G2>G3, which was identical to primary tumor. Tumor had not invaded the corpus cavernosum. Careful follow-up of the patients with preservation of fossa navicularis is important.     

Invasive micropapillary carcinoma of the urinary bladder: An immunohistochemical study of neoplastic and stromal cells

A 66-year-old man complained of hematuria. A cystoscopy revealed a non-papillary tumor and radical cystectomy was performed. Macroscopically, an ulcerative lesion was observed. Microscopically, the neoplasm showed a mixture of urothelial carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and micropapillary carcinoma. Immunohistochemically, micropapillary carcinoma cells were positive for cytokeratins 7 and 20, carcinoembryonic antigen and CA125. Additionally, myofibroblasts were distributed in a chicken-wire pattern in the stroma of micropapillary carcinoma. Subsequently, the patient died of carcinoma 1 year after the onset of symptoms. Our results support the previous hypothesis that bladder micropapillary carcinoma runs an aggressive clinical course and suggest that micropapillary carcinoma may show the glandular differentiation of urothelial carcinoma and show the stromal reaction by myofibroblasts resembling that of carcinoma in other anatomic sites.     

Synchronous triple urogenital cancer (renal cancer,bladder cancer,prostatic cancer): a case report

A case of synchronous triple urogenital cancer, which was comprised of renal cell carcinoma of the left kidney, transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder, and adenocarcinoma of the prostate, is reported. A 72-year-old Japanese male patient was referred to our outpatient clinic with the complaint of asymptomatic hematuria. At that time, his serum of level of PSA was elevated to 20 ng/ml. Cystourethroscopy showed a papillary bladder tumor and coagula through the left urinary orifice. Ultrasonography, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging showed a mass lesion measuring about 6 cm by 5 cm in the left kidney. Angiography showed a hypervascular lesion measuring about 6 cm by 5 cm at the same site. Double cancer, consisting of renal cell carcinoma and transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder, was suspected and we performed left total nephroureterectomy, hilar lymphadenectomy, and transurethral rection of the bladder tumor, one month later. At the same time, we performed a biopsy of the prostate. Histological diagnosis was renal cell carcinoma, clear cell carcinoma and transitional cell carcinoma of urinary bladder. Histological diagnosis of the prostate biopsy was moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma. Since this case fulfilled the criteria of Warren and Gates, it was classified as synchronous triple urogenital cancer. A review of the literature revealed 17 authentic cases of triple urogenital cancer, of which 14 and 10 cases were reported as a combination of renal cancer, bladder cancer and prostatic cancer, in the world and in Japan, respectively. Furthermore, he had been exposed to the atomic bomb explosion in Hiroshima in 1945. This carcinogenic precursor may be related to the development of the triple cancer.     

CT三维成像在膀胱肿瘤诊断中的应用价值

目的：探讨CT三维重建成像技术（3D-CT）在膀胱肿瘤诊治中的应用价值。方法：应用3D-CT对15例膀胱占位病变的患者进行检查，对诊断和分期结果与术后病理进行对比分析。结果：3D-CT诊断膀胱癌12例（移行细胞癌），膀胱良性肿瘤2例（平滑肌瘤），肠道肿瘤侵及膀胱1你（结肠癌），3D-CT诊断定位准确率100％。12例膀胱癌术前分期：T15例，T23例，T33例，T41例，与病理分期对照，准确率83％（10/12）。结论：3D-CT可以提高膀胱术前分期准确性，对手术选择具有重要的参考价值。     

High-grade intradiverticulum bladder tumor: A case report

Introduction and importanceBladder diverticula are mucosal outpunching of the bladder without a muscle layer. It could be detected incidentally or by giving symptoms of its complications.Case presentationA 59-year-old male patient presented with painless gross hematuria. A primary tumor arising in a bladder diverticulum was detected with computed tomography. Partial cystectomy with para-aortic lymph node dissection was performed. The pathology report showed high-grade papillary transitional cell carcinoma (PT3). Unfortunately, the patient died of an acute cardiac event and sepsis after one month postoperative.Clinical discussionOnce patient had a bladder diverticulum, we should expect the patient to have complications. One of that is intradiverticulum bladder malignancy. Imaging studies such computed tomography with contrast should be performed to confirm the diagnosis. Surgical interventions play a major role in the treatment. Most patients present with late, so the survival rate is poor in general.ConclusionIntradiverticulum bladder tumors are a major challenge in urological practice and need multiple investigations to be detected. These types of bladder tumors have high mortality rate.