Paraganglioma of the Bladder: a Case Report

Abstract

A paraganglioma of the bladder is a rare condition. Paraganglioma may case general symptoms of illness like sweating or headache. When performing a transurethral resection of the bladder of the paraganglioma, an antiadrenergic intervention is advised since the resection can trigger a hypertensive crisis. A 65-year-old female was under surveillance after a radical nephroureterectomy because of pTaG2 urothelial carcinoma of the renal pelvis. A year later, she had a recurrence in the bladder (pathology: TaG1 urothelial carcinoma). During follow-up, another suspicious lesion at the bladder wall was seen and resected by transurethral resection of the bladder. The pathology showed a paraganglioma. No other paragangliomas elsewhere in the body were detected. In retrospect, the patient reported to suffer from intermittent palpations and headaches, which are related to a paraganglioma. Paragangliomas are neuro-endocrine tumours and can occur at any age. Paragangliomas of the bladder are accountable for 0.05% of the tumours of the bladder. Eighty-three percent of the paragangliomas of the bladder are symptomatic due to production of catecholamines. Clinical symptoms include sweating, palpitations and hypertension during micturition and haematuria. Cystoscopy and resection of a hormone-producing can be dangerous in patients with symptomatic paragangliomas because of possible provocation of hypertensive crisis. Differentiating between malignant and benign tumours is difficult due to lack of histological criteria. Therefore, life-long monitoring is warranted.