A case of asynchronous renal cell carcinoma and urothelial cancer of the urinary bladder and left ureter

A 49-year-old male with left renal cell carcinoma and urothelial cancer (bladder and residual left ureter), which asynchronously occurred, was reported. He had received radical nephrectomy due to renal cell carcinoma 12 years earlier. He was followed up by his local physician for 7 years postoperatively, during which time no metastatic lesion was detected. However, he presented with macroscopic hematuria on January 7, 1992, and a diagnosis of urinary bladder cancer was made at our hospital. Computerized tomography demonstrated a non-papillary, broad-based tumor on the left wall of the urinary bladder, which histologically was transitional cell carcinoma (grade 3). Radical cystectomy, ureterectomy of the left residual ureter and ileal conduit were performed. Histological examinations showed that the urinary bladder tumor was transitional cell carcinoma, grade 3, pT-3b, and CIS (transitional cell carcinoma, grade 3) was found in the residual left ureter. Chemotherapy containing cis-platinum was performed as an adjuvant therapy, but multiple lung metastatic lesions appeared 2 months postoperatively, the histology of which was transitional cell carcinoma, suggesting metastasis from the urothelial cancer. Chemotherapy was ineffective, and he died of the disease 9 months after the operation. If this patient had been under long-term follow-up, the urothelial cancer may have been resected completely by transurethral resection. Our report indicated the importance of examination of the urinary tract in patients with such cancers, as well as the necessity of long-term follow-up.