[Carcinoma of the urethra in patients having undergone cystectomy for neoplasm of the bladder].

The multifocality of the cancer of the urethra is a concept already known so for time, therefore urethral lesions are expected in patients with carcinoma of the bladder with an incidence which varies from 4% to 18%. A retrospective study of incidence of transitional cell carcinoma of the urethra of personal sample of patients having cystectomy is reported. Of 259 patients who underwent cystectomy 13 developed a urethral tumour; 7.7% according to the international literature. The paper regards the characteristics of the urethral tumour by defining patients liable to risk where the carcinoma is plurifocal, or situated at the neck of the bladder and where frequent endoscopic operations have been performed or when there is a urethral "ca in situ". In these cases cystourethrectomy is suggested while the urethra is removed in presence of positive cytology in other forms. According to the authors' experience the survival of patients who have undergone a urethrectomy after cystectomy is 46%.