Urothelial tumors of the bladder

Neoplasms originating from the transitional epithelium of the urinary bladder are rare in children. This paper examines the clinical, epidemiological and histopathological characteristics of 3 such cases. The patients were males aged 4, 8 and 14 years at the time of diagnosis. Total painless hematuria was the presenting symptom in all of them. There was no history of previous exposure to dyes or other chemicals, but 1 patient was a systematic cigarette smoker. All tumors were solitary, noninfiltrating, grade 1 neoplasms. Following their local resection, no recurrences were noted 3-8 years postoperatively. This review supports the contention that transitional cell neoplasms of the bladder are less aggressive in children and, therefore, their local management constitutes an adequate therapeutic approach.