[Neuroendocrine carcinoma of the bladder: about 5 cases]

Neuroendocrine carcinoma of the bladder is a rare histological entity, characterized by the ability to metastasize quickly and associated with a poor prognosis. The purpose of this study was to analyze the clinical, histological, therapeutic and prognostic characteristics of neuroendocrine carcinoma of the bladder. We conducted a retrospective study collecting data from the medical records of 5 patients in the Department of Urology, at the Ibn Sina University Hospital during the period between January 2008 and June 2015. The average age was 63 years. Four males and one female were involved in the sudy. The neuroendocrine carcinoma was pure in four cases and impure or associated with urothelial component in one case. In two patients metastases were present at initial diagnosis. In one case, cystectomy was performed followed by neoadjuvant chemotherapy; chemoradiotherapy was performed in two cases and palliative chemotherapy in the other two cases. The median survival was 10 months. Only one patient was alive, with a follow-up period of 20 months. The management of neuroendocrine carcinoma of the bladder is not standardized, several therapeutic options have been proposed: surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.