Adenocarcinoma of the urinary bladder

We report 40 patients seen over a 15-year period with a histological diagnosis of adenocarcinoma of the bladder; 18 patients had primary adenocarcinoma of the bladder, arising either from the urachus or from glandular metaplasia of the urothelium, and the other 22 had secondary lesions representing invasion from adjacent structures, notably prostate, colon and ovary. In this latter group symptoms related to the primary lesion were variable. The distinction between primary and secondary neoplasm is an important one and was rarely made on the basis of endoscopic or clinical findings alone. Urachal tumours were more common in females, whereas primary and secondary vesical adenocarcinomas were more common in males. The urachal tumours also occurred in a younger age group. Most of the adenocarcinomas, urachal or primary, were already advanced at the time of diagnosis. All tumours were palpable bimanually after resection and were at least T2 or T3. In the urachal carcinomas the results of partial cystectomy were disappointing because of the high rate of local recurrence and death from metastases. Primary non-urachal vesical adenocarcinoma carried an even poorer prognosis if non-radical surgery was carried out. The mean survival was 13 months. Radiotherapy was not effective in urachal and primary adenocarcinomas as these tumours are generally radioresistant. The treatment of secondary adenocarcinoma was governed by the primary site of the tumour. Radical surgery combined with chemotherapy and radiotherapy appeared to give the longest survival in the colonic tumours. Patients with prostatic cancer had a poorer survival rate than those with the same stage tumour but without bladder involvement, with renal failure secondary to obstructive uropathy being the commonest cause of death.