Synchronous presentation of muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma of bladder and peritoneal malign mesothelioma

Our plain-English summary of Synchronous presentation of muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma of bladder and peritoneal malign mesothelioma, by C. Basatac, F. Aktepe, S. Sağlam, et al (International Braz J Urol, 2019).

The study

• Authors: C. Basatac, F. Aktepe, S. Sağlam, H. Akpınar
• Journal: International Braz J Urol
• Published: 2019;45(4):843-846
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Cancer is one of the most important leading cause of death in man and woman in the world. The occurrence of new cancer has become more frequent in recent years due to strict screening protocols and occupational and environmental exposure to carcinogens. The incidence of secondary malignancies has also increased due to close medical follow-up and advanced age. Herein, we report a case and its management diagnosed as synchronous peritoneal malignant mesothelioma and muscleinvasive urothelial carcinoma.

Copyright® by the International Brazilian Journal of Urology.

In plain English

This article was a case report about one patient, published by authors from Istanbul, Turkey. A 71-year-old man with no history of asbestos exposure came to the authors' hospital with visible blood in his urine and a gradually swelling abdomen. Scans showed a bladder mass, fluid in the abdomen, thickening of the abdominal lining (peritoneum) and a mass at the navel. In one operation he had the bladder tumor removed through the urethra and the affected abdominal lining removed by keyhole surgery. Laboratory staining confirmed two separate cancers: a high-grade urothelial (bladder) carcinoma that had grown into the bladder muscle, and malignant peritoneal mesothelioma. The doctors chose not to remove his bladder because of the mesothelioma. He received six cycles of chemotherapy with pemetrexed, cisplatin and bevacizumab, and a scan at six months showed no disease progression. Heated chemotherapy inside the abdomen was then planned. The authors concluded that, to their knowledge, this was the first such reported case. They said there was no agreed treatment for this rare combination, and that individualized care with close multidisciplinary follow-up might improve survival.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: case report (single patient)
• Who was studied: One 71-year-old man treated at the authors' hospital in Istanbul, Turkey; dates of care not stated
• Exposure: No asbestos exposure: the authors reported that the patient had no history of asbestos exposure. No fiber type or job exposure was described.
• Main results:
  • CT scan of the patient showed diffuse ascites with nodular peritoneal thickening; an umbilical mass measured 30mm and the bladder mass on ultrasound measured 15mm
  • Pathology showed high-grade urothelial carcinoma invading the bladder muscle (muscularis propria) and malignant peritoneal mesothelioma in the peritoneal specimens
  • Immunohistochemistry distinguished the two cancers: urothelial carcinoma stained with GATA (and focally with uroplakin III); mesothelioma cells stained strongly and diffusely with calretinin
  • Radical cystectomy (bladder removal) was not performed because of the simultaneous mesothelioma diagnosis
  • The patient received six cycles of pemetrexed, cisplatin and bevacizumab every three weeks for both cancers; a CT scan at the six-month follow-up showed no evidence of disease progression
  • Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) with cisplatin and doxorubicin was then planned for the peritoneal mesothelioma
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that, to their knowledge, this was the first reported case of peritoneal malignant mesothelioma with synchronous muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma. They said there was no consensus on treatment because of its rarity, and that individualized treatment with close multidisciplinary follow-up might improve survival.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Lung cancer, Mesothelioma, Peritoneal mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Carcinoma, Mesothelioma, Environmental Exposure.

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