title: Management and follow-up of urothelial neoplasms of the bladder in children: a report from the TREP project.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Urothelial neoplasms of the bladder (UNB) are rare in patients under 20 years of age, and even rarer in the first decade of life. The present series was investigated to provide recommendations on patient management in terms of therapeutic strategy and follow-up.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a retrospective analysis on 12 patients with UNB under 18 years of age. Data were extracted from the national database of the TREP (Tumori Rari in Età Pediatrica) Project.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ten of the 12 patients presented with a single episode of hematuria, while the discovery of the lesion was incidental in two. Eleven of the 12 lesions were G1 and one was G2/G3; none of the lesions invaded the lamina propria. All lesions were removed completely by transurethral resection. No further treatment was administered in nine children but three received a single dose of intravesical chemotherapy (epirubicin in 2, mitomycin in 1). Only one patient experienced a recurrence and all patients are alive in complete remission with a median follow-up of 30 months (range 4-112). Follow-up investigations varied at the different centers and included abdominal ultrasound in nine patients, cystoscopy in seven, and additional radiological investigations in a few cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  UNB in children seems to be a low-grade, scarcely aggressive disease with an excellent prognosis. The role of intravesical chemotherapy is debatable. Follow-up can be based on ultrasound. The adoption of shared recommendations should enable unnecessary treatment and invasive investigations to be avoided.
authors.affiliation: Department of Women's and Children's Health, Hematology/Oncology Division, Padova University Hospital, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Di Carlo
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ferrari
authors.forename: Katia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Perruccio
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: D'Angelo
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Fagnani
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cecchetto
authors.forename: Gianni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bisogno
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*
keywords: TREP; TUR; transitional cell tumor; urothelial carcinoma; very rare tumors