Asymptomatic solitary bladder plasmocytoma: A case report and literature review

Solitary extramedullary plasmocytoma may arise in any organ, either as a primary tumor or as part of a systemic myeloma; if it rarely affects bladder, it presents with urinary symptoms. We describe the first case of asymptomatic BP occasionally diagnosed in a patient with ascites.

A 74-year-old woman with hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related liver cirrhosis presented with ascites and no urinary or other symptoms.

Routine blood tests were within normal ranges, except for mild elevation of transaminases due to chronic hepatitis. Abdominal ultrasound and computed tomography (CT) scanning showed multiple liver nodules suspected for carcinomas and, incidentally, a 18 mm solid lesion of right bladder wall.

She underwent transurethral resection of the bladder tumor and percutaneous liver biopsies; final diagnosis was solitary bladder plasmocytoma (BP) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), respectively. She was given chemoembolization of the main HCC nodule but no adjuvant treatment for BP. At 3-month follow-up, total-body CT showed no signs of bladder disease nor distant metastases; unfortunately, she died one month later due to liver failure.

This is the first reported case of asymptomatic BP. This rare neoplasm may pose difficulties in differential diagnosis with both bladder metastases and the plasmocytoid variant of bladder transitional cell carcinoma. We also highlighted lack of factors predicting disease outcome as well as response to potential adjuvant treatments.