[Radiation-induced infiltrating transitional cell carcinoma]

The increased risk of developing a transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) among patients irradiated for other pathologies in a known fact, but many times forgotten due to its low incidence. Our aim is to review the association between radiotherapy (RT) and muscle-infiltrating TCC among our patients.

Clinical survey among our muscle-infiltrating TCC data base since 1975. Descriptive analysis of found cases.

We found 5 patients who developed muscle-infiltrating TCC with a mean time of 19.2 years since radiotherapy (three of them more than 20 years and the other two less than 10 years). Three patients also developed other tumours or pathologies related to radiotherapy. Two of them had an upper tract muscle-infiltrating TCC and required nephroureterectomy. All of them had high risk TCC of the bladder and one developed distant metastasis.

Patients under abdomino-pelvic RT and a prolongued follow-up, can be considered a risk group for developing muscle-infiltrating TCC. Thus, either micro or macrohaematuria or irritative symptoms should lead us to think in this possibility, demanding complete and exhaustive study to rule out TCC in all the urothelium.