title: Pathological features and adverse prognosis of a contemporary series of neuroendocrine bladder tumours.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Neuroendocrine bladder tumours are rare entities known for their aggressive behaviour. The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the outcome of a contemporary series of 14 consecutive bladder neuroendocrine neoplasms observed at 2 institutional hospitals.
  
  
  METHODS
  The charts of patients with a pathological diagnosis of neuroendocrine bladder tumours observed at 2 institutions in the last 5 years were reviewed. Fourteen cases were retrieved. The main endpoint was to evaluate the pathological features and the cancer-specific survival (CSS) of the cohort. Subanalysis of survival based on the type of treatment received was attempted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean age was 70.2 years. The rate of metastatic disease at diagnosis was 57.1%. Mean follow-up was 13.7 months (95% CI 5.1-22.3). The 6-month CSS rate was 57.1%, while the 2-year CSS rate was 21.4%. CSS and overall survival rates overlapped. The median survival for the cohort was 7 months. There was no statistically significant difference in survival between patients who underwent surgery and those who did not.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Neuroendocrine bladder tumours remain a disease with an extremely unfavourable prognosis. The impact of radical surgery on survival remains questionable. Patients harbouring this rare bladder cancer should be referred for trials assessing neoadjuvant and adjuvant systemic treatment strategies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Molinette Hospital, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oderda
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ruoppolo
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marson
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pisano
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fragapane
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Molinaro
authors.forename: Donatella
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pacchioni
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tizzani
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gontero
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant / Q000379:methods; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D018358:Neuroendocrine Tumors / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*