Abstract
Purpose: To evaluate the clinical findings of bladder tumors in hemodialysis patients.
Materials and Methods: Fourteen patients who were on maintenance hemodialysis were treated for bladder tumors in our center between 1979 and 1997. We reviewed the charts of these patients and they were analyzed in terms of sex, age, symptoms, duration of hemodialysis, and prognosis. Tumor grade and tumor stage were analyzed histologically.
Results: Of the 14 patients, 10 were male and 4 were female, and the mean age was 63.5 years. Twelve (86%) had gross hematuri, and urinary cytology was positive in 11 patients (85%). The pathological grade was G3 in 13 (93%). Ten (71%) had invasive disease (T2<), and 9 (64%) had stage T3b or T4 disease. Eleven of 14 patients underwent radical cystectomy, whereas 3 patients underwent bladder-preserving surgery. Seven (50%) of 14 patients died, but 5 deaths were caused by tumor-unrelated-diseases. Two patients (14%) died of bladder tumors.
Conclusions: Uremic conditions may cause high grade diseases. Since there were only 2 cases (14%) of cancer death, radical cystectomy should be indicated for these patients. Early diagnosis is extremely important, because these patients already had high grade and high stage diseases. For early diagnosis, urinary cytology is useful due to the high incidence of positive cytology.
