A rare occurrence of urinary bladder carcinoma in pregnancy

Abstract

The incidence of malignant tumors in pregnancy is reported as 2.35 cases every 10000 pregnancies. Of these, urological malignancy are particularly uncommon. Our patient was diagnosed with bladder carcinoma in pregnancy at 8 weeks of gestation. The tumor was resected in the early second trimester and intravesical Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) was administered after the histopathological confirmation of the diagnosis. Regular follow ups were conducted for pregnancy and evaluation of bladder pathology. Patient had an uneventful full term vaginal delivery and postpartum course. With limited evidence in literature, there are no established guidelines to manage this rare malignancy in pregnancy. Here we describe the dilemmas and challenges faced for optimization of the wellbeing of both the mother and the baby. The close collaboration between the oncosurgeon, urologist and obstetrician and the involvement of the patient and her family resulted in a successful outcome.