Clear cell adenocarcinoma of the male urethra in association with so-called nephrogenic metaplasia.

A clear cell adenocarcinoma of the urethra associated with so-called nephrogenic metaplasia occurring in a 57-year-old male patient is presented. Ten months following total urethrectomy, multiple pulmonary metastases had developed. The patient died 2.5 years after surgery. The possible histogenesis of clear cell adenocarcinoma of the lower urinary tract - reported to develop in the male urethra only in a very few cases - is reviewed briefly. We favor an origin from preexisting nephrogenic metaplasia as one of the possible histogenetic pathways. Copyright 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel