Penile-preserving surgery for primary urothelial carcinoma of male urethra

Abstract

Primary urethral carcinoma is a rare cancer, comprising <1% of all malignancies. The location of this lesion presents a certain dilemma of treatment between efficacy and quality of life. We report an 84-year-old male patient, with a history of chronic hepatitis C, hypertension, and transient ischemic accident, who presented with dysuria and acute urinary retention. The intravenous urography showed mild prostatic enlargement, but no stone or filling defect was noted in the upper urinary tract. On urethrocystoscopy, multiple papillary tumors were found at the pendulous urethra, and the pathology of biopsy confirmed urothelial carcinoma. The patient was admitted, and electroresection with fulguration of urethral tumors was performed owing to the patient's old age and poor performance status. Intraurethral and intravesical chemotherapy with mitomycin C was regularly given at the outpatient clinic. Recurrent urothelial carcinomas were noted twice in the first 2 years of follow up, and repeated transurethral resections were done. Unfortunately, liver cirrhosis with hepatocellular carcinoma was diagnosed last June, for which he received transcatheter arterial chemoembolization. No recurrence of urethral cancer has been found on semiannual cystoscopy in the past 3 years. Penile-preserving surgery is a reasonable surgical option for elderly primary urethral carcinoma patients with acceptable oncological outcome and good quality of life.