Polymyositis associated with urinary bladder cancer: an autopsy case.

Abstract

A 56-year-old man suffered from muscle weakness with elevated serum creatine kinase. Under diagnosis of polymyositis, the patient was treated with corticosteroid, methotrexate and cyclosporin A. Eleven months after the first signs of muscle weakness, the patient suffered an abrupt onset of anuria and underwent hemodialysis. The patient died of respiratory insufficiency 14 months after the first signs of muscle weakness. Autopsy findings revealed associated urinary bladder cancer with histological indications of adenosquamous cell carcinoma, liver metastasis and cancerous lymphangitis of the lung.