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Urothelial Carcinoma, Sarcomatoid Type

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Pathology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Pathology ((EP))

  • 37 Accesses

Synonyms

Carcinosarcoma; Malignant mesodermal mixed tumor; Malignant teratoma; Metaplastic carcinoma; Pseudosarcomatous transitional cell carcinoma; Spindle cell carcinoma

Definition

This term comprises biphasic malignant neoplasms that show epithelial and mesenchymal differentiation proved by morphological and/or immunohistochemical features (Lopez-Beltran and Cheng 2006). Sarcomatoid carcinoma seems to represent the final common pathway of urothelial carcinoma dedifferentiation (Cheng et al. 2011).

Clinical Features

  • Incidence

    Sarcomatoid carcinoma is a very rare entity, representing <1% of all bladder tumors. Some cases may have a previous history of radiation and/or cyclophosphamide therapy as risk factor (Lopez-Beltran et al. 1998; Moch et al. 2016).

  • Age

    Patient’s age ranges from 50 to 77 years with a mean of 66.

  • Sex

    There is a male prevalence with a male to female ratio of 3–4:1.

  • Site and presentation

    It affects mainly urinary bladder but may also be seen in the renal pelvis and...

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References and Further Reading

  • Cheng, L., Zhang, S., Alexander, R., et al. (2011). Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the urinary bladder: The final common pathway of urothelial carcinoma dedifferentiation. The American Journal of Surgical Pathology, 35, e34–e46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lopez-Beltran, A., & Cheng, L. (2006). Histologic variants of urothelial carcinoma: Differential diagnosis and clinical implications. Human Pathology, 37(11), 1371–1388.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lopez-Beltran, A., Pacelli, A., Rothenberg, H. J., et al. (1998). Carcinosarcoma and sarcomatoid carcinoma of the bladder: Clinicopathological study of 41 cases. The Journal of Urology, 159, 1497–1503.

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  • Moch, H., Humphrey, P. A., Ulbright, T. M., & Reuter, V. (2016). WHO classification of tumors of the urinary system and male genital organs. Lyon: International Agency for Research on Cancer.

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  • Sanfrancesco, J., McKenney, J. K., et al. (2016). Sarcomatoid urothelial carcinoma of the bladder: Analysis of 28 cases with emphasis on clinicopathologic features and markers of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, 140, 543–551.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sung, M.-T., Wang, M., et al. (2007). Histogenesis of sarcomatoid urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder: Evidence for a common clonal origin with divergent differentiation. The Journal of Pathology, 211, 420–430.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Venyo, A. K.-G., & Titi, S. (2014). Sarcomatoid variant of urothelial carcinoma (carcinosarcoma, spindle cell carcinoma): A review of the literature. ISRN Urology, 2014, 794563–794563.

    Article  Google Scholar 

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Histopathology and Molecular Diagnostics, University Hospital Careggi, Florence, Italy

    Caterina Fattorini & Maria Rosaria Raspollini

  2. Pathology Service, Champalimaud Clinical Center, Lisbon, Portugal

    Antonio Lopez-Beltran

  3. Unit of Anatomic Pathology, Department of Surgery, Cordoba University Medical School, Cordoba, Spain

    Antonio Lopez-Beltran

Authors
  1. Caterina Fattorini
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  2. Antonio Lopez-Beltran
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  3. Maria Rosaria Raspollini
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maria Rosaria Raspollini .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. NIJMEGEN, The Netherlands

    J.H.J.M. van Krieken

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Fattorini, C., Lopez-Beltran, A., Raspollini, M.R. (2019). Urothelial Carcinoma, Sarcomatoid Type. In: van Krieken, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Pathology. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_4991-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_4991-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28845-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28845-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

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