A case of paraganglioma of the bladder detected by bladder washing cytology

Abstract

Background : We report a case of paraganglioma of the bladder detected by bladder washing cytology (BWC).

Case : A male in his 50s. A bladder tumor was detected at another hospital, but it was followed up as a benign tumor. The patient was referred to our hospital when he developed hematuria and signs of tumor growth. BWC revealed cells that were different in appearance from those in typical high-grade urothelial carcinoma, or umbrella cells. The cytological diagnosis was suspicious (atypical cells of unknown origin). Cystoscopy revealed a submucosal tumor-like mass on the posterior wall. Transurethral bladder tumor resection (TUR-BT) was performed, and the histopathological diagnosis was primary paraganglioma of the bladder.

Conclusion : The cytological characteristics observed on BWC in our case were as follows : 1) Tumor cells with a high N/C ratio and fine granular cytoplasm were observed in small clusters or as scattered cells ; 2) the nuclei were round with fine chromatin and inconspicuous nucleoli ; and 3) there were binucleated cells and multinucleated cells.