A Retrospective Analysis of Clinical and Pathologic Characteristics of Recurrent Bladder Tumor in a Tertiary Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

BACKGROUND

Previous recurrences, tumor category (Ta, T1), the presence of CIS with superficial bladder tumors, the number of tumors, tumor size and multiplicity are predictors of bladder tumor recurrence. Recurrence is better predicted by multiplicity, size and previous recurrence.

METHODS

This is retrospective descriptive study. All patients with urinary bladder tumor admitted to TASH from January 1st, 2018 to December 31st, 2019 is the study population. Information was retrieved using structured questionnaire.

RESULTS

Most of the recurrent tumors 55 (76.4%) had huge size and were multiple 62 (86.1%) in the primary presentation. Most recurrent tumors 47 (65.3%) are low grade bladder tumors. About 17 (23.6%) were high grade tumor in their primary presentation. European studies showed size and multiplicity increase risk of recurrence. However, our patients have late presentations which probably made the proportion of recurrence higher.

CONCLUSION

Most of the recurrent bladder tumors have huge size and multiple in number at their initial presentation. All histological variants of Urothelial carcinomas recur.

Eosinophilic Cystitis: A Rare Cause of Nocturnal Enuresis in Children

Introduction

Eosinophilic cystitis (EC) is a rare and poorly understood inflammatory condition, characterized by eosinophilic infiltration of all layers of the bladder wall, which mimics bladder tumors. EC may present with symptoms such as increased urination frequency, dysuria, gross/microscopic hematuria, suprapubic pain and urinary retention.

Case Presentation

We present a 17-year-old male patient, who was continent night and day in his childhood, and was admitted to our clinic for complaints of hematuria and nocturnal enuresis for the past six months. His history and physical examination were unremarkable, and routine hematological and biochemical tests were normal. Cystoscopy revealed a 4 × 3 cm erythematous, polypoidal, solid lesion on the bladder dome. Histopathological examination of the lesion revealed transitional epithelium with stromal edema, where diffuse, dense infiltration of lamina propria by eosinophils and lymphocytes was also seen. According to these findings, a histopathological diagnosis of EC was made, and the patient was treated with corticosteroids, antimicrobial agents and antihistamines. His symptoms dramatically improved and nocturnal enuresis also recovered after treatment.

Conclusions

Although it is a rare entity, EC should be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with dysuria, hematuria and any kind of acquired voiding dysfunction, including frequency, pollakiuria and incontinence.

Metformin for the Prevention of Bladder Cancer Recurrence: Is it Effective?

Background

Many methods have been used for preventing and reducing recurrences of bladder cancers. In recent years, some investigators have examined the use of metformin for this purpose. First lines of evidence have shown that metformin inhibits cancer cell growth and prevents cancer occurrence in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Objectives

This study is designed to assess metformin usage in the prevention of bladder cancer recurrence after the trans-urethral resection of a bladder tumor (TUR-T).

Patients and Methods

In the present study, metformin was administered in the treatment of 32 patients with a history of bladder cancer, and their results were compared with those of 33 patients with bladder cancer recurrence (placebo group). Patients in the metformin group received 1000 mg metformin (2 tablets 500 mg) for 1 year. Frequency of tumor recurrence was calculated and compared with the placebo group.

Results

There was no statistical difference between the 2 groups with respect to the recurrence rate (P > 0.05). Although the recurrence interval was longer for the metformin group, this increase was not statistical significant (P > 0.05). Furthermore, tumor recurrence had no correlation with sex or the grade of the tumors.

Conclusions

According to our findings, it seems that metformin has no considerable inhibitory effect on the recurrence rate of bladder cancer, but that it can delay tumor recurrence.