Locally advanced paraganglioma of the urinary bladder: a case report

BACKGROUND: Paraganglioma of the urinary bladder is a rare tumor. Herein we sought to describe a case of locally advanced paraganglioma of the urinary bladder managed by partial cystectomy and extended pelvic lymph node dissection. CASE PRESENTATION: The case of a 43-year old Haitian male with locally advanced paraganglioma of the urinary bladder is presented in detail. Through surgical extirpation, our patient was rendered disease-free. Eighteen months later the patient is doing well without symptoms but is noted to have subcentimeter bilateral pulmonary nodules and retroperitoneal lymph nodes. No further therapy has been initiated at this time. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with localized tumors have an extremely favorable prognosis and may be managed by less aggressive modalities, whereas patients with metastatic disease have a significant reduced survival rate despite aggressive treatment.