[Treatment of distal urethral cancer by laser coagulation]

Primary carcinoma of the urethra is a rare lesion, and there are no standard therapeutical modalities suggested in the literature. We report the case of a 65-year-old woman with transitional cell carcinoma of the distal urethra and metastasis to the inguinal lymph nodes (T2 N1 MO G2). Locally, the lesion was treated by Nd:YAG laser coagulation in four sessions. Ileoinguinal and pelvic lymph-node dissection was performed as a diagnostic and therapeutic procedure. Twenty-eight months after the initial treatment, no evidence of tumor recurrence has been found, although extensive biopsy specimens have been taken. Clinical staging showed no evidence of metastases.