[Treatment methods as a prognostic factor in eight patients with urachal carcinoma]

Between 1960 and 1982, 8 patients with urachal carcinoma underwent segmental resection of the bladder or en bloc resection, and their five-year survival rate was 50%. One patient each with well, moderate and poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma and one patient with transitional cell carcinoma, died of cancer from 6 months to 2 years and 2 months after operation (mean duration: 1 year and 3 months). The patient with well differentiated adenocarcinoma underwent en bloc resection and was recognized to have peritoneal involvement of the tumor at the operation. The remaining three patients were diagnosed to have tumors confined to their bladder and urachal remnant and were treated with segmental resection of the bladder. Two patients each, with well and moderately differentiated carcinoma confined to their bladder and urachal remnant, were treated with en bloc resection and have been surviving from 8 years and 5 months to 24 years and 10 months (mean duration: 13 years and 7 months) postoperatively as of Dec. 1987. Therefore, patients with well and moderately differentiated adenocarcinomas confined to the bladder and the urachal remnant could be expected to survive longer by en bloc resection.