title: Micropapillary bladder cancer: a review of Léon Bérard Cancer Center experience.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Micropapillary bladder cancer is a rare and aggressive variant of urothelial carcinoma. A retrospective review of our experience in management of patients with muscle-invasive or metastatic micropapillary bladder cancer was performed to better define the behavior of this disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  We reviewed the records of the 11 patients with micropapillary bladder cancer who were evaluated and treated at Léon Bérard Cancer Center between 1994 and 2007, accounting for 1,2% of all urothelial tumors treated in this institution.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean patients age was 60 years. The majority of patients (72%) were diagnosed after 2004. After a median follow-up of 31.7 months, median overall survival was 19 months. Two patients presented with stage II, one with stage III and eight with stage IV disease All 5 patients who had node positive metastases and treated with radical surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy relapsed and had a disease free survival of 9.6 months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Micropapillary bladder cancer is probably an underreported variant of urothelial carcinoma associated with poor prognosis. Adjuvant chemotherapy might have a questionable efficacy and the optimal treatment strategy is yet to be defined.
authors.affiliation: Léon Bérard Cancer Center, 28 Rue Laennec, 69008 Lyon, France. pierreheudel@yahoo.fr
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Heudel
authors.forename: Fadi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: El Karak
authors.forename: Nabil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ismaili
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Droz
authors.forename: Aude
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Flechon
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002173:Cancer Care Facilities; D002291:Carcinoma, Papillary / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy*