Clinical features and outcomes of nontransitional cell carcinomas of the urinary bladder: Analysis of 125 cases

OBJECTIVES: The aim was to evaluate pathologic diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of 125 patients with nontransitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 3590 patients with bladder tumors operated in our clinic between September 1998 and May 2013 were retrospectively evaluated. A total of 125 patients (107 men and 18 women) with nontransitional cell bladder cancer, confirmed by histopathology, were included in this study. The patients’ characteristics, including age, gender, smoking history, tumor size, and localization, histological types, pathological tumor stages, treatment modalities, and survival rates were all recorded. RESULTS: Of these tumors, 47 (37.6%) were adenocarcinoma (AC), 42 (33.6%) were squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), 23 (18.4%) were undifferentiated carcinoma (UC), 13 (10.4%) were other types of bladder carcinoma. Sixty-three (50.4%) patients had undergone radical cystectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy ± adjuvant treatment (chemotherapy [CT]/radiotherapy) and 52 (41.6%) patients received radiotherapy ± CT. The median survival time of patients with AC and SCC were significantly higher than patients with UC (AC vs UC, P = 0.001; SCC vs UC, P = 0.000; AC vs. SCC, P = 0.219). Median survival time was significantly higher in radical cystectomy ± adjuvant treatment group (P < 0.05) in all histological types. CONCLUSION: Prognosis of urinary bladder tumors was directly related to histological type and stage of the tumor. CT or radiotherapy has limited response rates. Early radical cystectomy should be performed to improve prognosis.