Primary urothelial carcinoma of the male anterior urethra; A case report

INTRODUCTION: and importance: Urethral cancer is a rare condition. It represents less than 1% of all cancers and the clinical signs are not very specific and confusing, which explains the often-late diagnosis. The prognosis can be poor. The objective of our observation is to discuss, through a review of the literature, the diagnostic and therapeutic means of tumors of the male anterior urethra. CASE PRESENTATION: This is a 54-year-old patient, smoker, followed for urinary lithiasis. He initially consulted us for right nephritic colic, with an obstructive iliac ureteral stone on a CT scan. He had drainage by JJ stent followed by extracorporeal lithotripsy. After three months, it was decided to remove the JJ Stent. During urethrocystoscopy, a papillary tumor of the anterior urethra was found, measuring 0.5 cm on the long axis. Endoscopic resection of the tumor was performed. Pathological examination revealed a low-grade malignant urothelial carcinoma. No tumor recurrence was noted after one year of follow-up. DISCUSSION: Primary urethral cancer is a rare condition. Most series in the literature show a male predominance. The main risk factors are chronic inflammation, history of urethritis, and urethral stricture. The clinical signs of urethral cancer are usually discrete and not very specific. The reference examination for positive diagnosis remains urethroscopy, which allows a more precise diagnosis thanks to a direct view of the urethral mucosa. The management of tumors of the anterior urethra consisted of aggressive excisional surgery. The main goal was to achieve satisfactory local control. conservative treatment by resection, fulguration or laser vaporization is indicated for small lesions (<1 cm). CONCLUSION: Tumors of the anterior urethra in men are often diagnosed late. More effort should be made to diagnose this disease earlier, especially in high-risk groups. Conservative treatment can be offered in patients with a small lesion.