Five-year survival after multimodal approach in a patient with muscle-invasive transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder and adrenal metastasis

A 59-year-old male presented with painless hematuria. Cystoscopy revealed a 6 cm solid lesion on the bladder wall. Transurethral resection of the mass showed a pT2 G3 transitional cell carcinoma (TCC). Staging computed tomography demonstrated a solitary left adrenal metastasis that was confirmed on fine-needle aspiration. He then underwent 6 cycles of gemcitabine and cisplatin. Postchemotherapy positron emission tomography demonstrated no glucose-avid areas. Left adrenalectomy and radical cystectomy were performed. There is no evidence of disease recurrence 62 months after the procedure. In metastatic TCC, postchemotherapy surgery is controversial but may provide significant survival benefit to patients with limited systemic disease that responds well to chemotherapy. This report adds to the growing body of evidence that supports a more aggressive multimodal approach to metastatic TCC in select patients. Other patient selection criteria are discussed.