Sarcomatoid Urothelial Carcinoma: A Single Cancer Center Experience

Background Sarcomatoid bladder cancer is a rare and aggressive variant of urothelial carcinoma. Methods A retrospective review of our experience in managing patients with sarcomatoid bladder cancer (SRBC) between 1997 and 2011 was performed to better define the behavior and outcomes of this disease. Results The median age of the patients was 63 years. All patients presented with high grade histology. Eighty-five percent of the patients presented with muscle invasive disease and fifty percent presented with stage IV carcinoma. Ten of 14 (71%) of patients underwent a cystectomy. Patients with SRBC was younger (P < 0.01), more commonly presented with higher grade histology (P < 0.01) and advanced stage disease (P < 0.01), in comparison with patients with Urothelial carcinoma (UC). At a median follow-up of 7 months (range 1.3 - 112), five (35.7%) patients have died in last follow-up. Two-year survival was 53.5%. Three patients with long term survival were reported. Conclusions Sarcomatoid bladder cancer is associated with poor prognosis. Multimodality therapy may improve these patients outcome.