[Paraganglioma of the urinary bladder: a case report]

A patient with paraganglioma of the urinary bladder is reported. A 65-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with the chief complaint of postvoiding headache, palpitation, and cold sweat. She had has no episodes of hematuria. On laboratory data, mild elevation was found in plasma neuron specific enolase (NSE), urinary noradrenaline and urinary metanephrine. The patient showed hypertension after urination with the elevation of plasma noradrenaline. 131I-MIBG scintigraphy showed abnormal accumulation in the bladder, and no abnormal accumulation in the other lesion. Pelvic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a solid tumor of the urinary bladder, measuring 2 cm in diameter. Paraganglioma of the urinary bladder was diagnosed and the tumor was extirpated. The tumor measured 2 x 2 x 1.5 cm, and histopathologically diagnosed as paraganglioma. After extirpation, the patient became free of the postvoiding symptoms, and showed normal catecholamine levels. She has been followed up for 4 months after operation without any evidence of recurrence.