Carcinoma of the bladder: a clinical and pathological analysis of 87 autopsy cases

A clinical and pathological analysis was done on 87 autopsy cases of carcinoma of the bladder. Of the 87 cases 68 were men and 19 were women, with a mean age of 64 years. The average survival time was 39 months from the onset of symptoms to death. The patients with multiple tumors had a longer average survival time than the patients with single tumors (51 compared to 40 months), and the average survival times were definitely more favorable for men than for women (43 compared to 23 months). Histological examination revealed transitional cell carcinoma in 77 patients, squamous cell carcinoma in 4, vesical adenocarcinoma in 3 and urachal adenocarcinoma in 3. Squamous cell carcinoma and vesical adenocarcinoma seemed to be more malignant neoplasms. Metastasis was noted in 58 of 87 cases (66.7 per cent) and occurred most frequently in lymph nodes (37.9 per cent), liver (29.9 per cent), lungs (29.9 per cent) and bones (24.1 per cent). Of the 87 cases of bladder carcinoma 11 had primary carcinoma in organs other than the bladder.