Carcinosarcoma of the urinary bladder

Abstract

Six examples of carcinosarcoma of urinary bladder consisting of intimate mixtures of carcinomatous and sarcomatous tissues are reported. Five patients were men, 43 to 79 years of age, and one was a 71-year-old woman. Two neoplasms were collision tumors and consisted of leiomyosarcoma and transitional cell carcinoma with squamous and glandular foci in one. Four neoplasms were considered to be composition tumors originating from the mucosa and characterized by heterologous sarcoma. Carcinosarcomas of urinary bladder tend to be large, bulky, intraluminal tumors that grow rapidly and infiltrate widely. Irrespective of their histogenesis, the prognosis is poor, with 5 of 6 patients in this series dying of recurrent and/or metastatic disease within 33 months of diagnosis.