Clinicopathological analysis of 3 cases in which pulmonary metastasis from the urothelial carcinoma was resected

: We describe 3 cases in which the pulmonary metastasis from the urothelial carcinoma of the bladder and upper urinary tract was resected. The duration from the operation of the primary lesion to the occurrence of the pulmonary metastasis was 19, 11, and 4 years in each of the 3 cases. Repeated treatment of the local recurrence was performed in all the 3 cases. Local recurrence in the bladder membrane was observed in 1 case. In 2 cases, computed tomography( CT) scans revealed that the cavitation had penetrated the tumor. Histological findings of the surgical specimen obtained from the 3 cases revealed severe tumor necrosis. Immunostaining of the surgical specimen resulted in a definitive diagnosis of pulmonary metastasis from the urothelial carcinoma in 2 cases in which a differential diagnosis could not identify the primary lung cancer from the pulmonary metastasis. The prognoses in terms of survival in each of the 3 cases were shorter than 32, 19, and 6 months from the operation of the pulmonary metastasis. However, the prognoses could be improved by multidisciplinary treatment, including the resection of the pulmonary metastasis.