Clinical features of urachal carcinoma in Japan: review of 157 patients.

Carcinoma of the urachus is not as uncommon as previously considered. 157 cases diagnosed to have urachal carcinoma collected from the Japanese literature were reviewed and the findings were compared with those reported in the English literature. The incidence of the disease ranges from 0.55 to 1.2% of bladder tumours in Japan in contrast with 0.07 to 0.70% in the Western countries. Males accounted for 72% of the patients. The highest age incidence occurred between fifth and sixth decades. The commonest presenting symptom was haematuria (71%). Adenocarcinoma accounted for 88% of the tumours most being mucous producing. Various treatment modalities were used, however, and the prognosis remained uniformly poor. An analysis of 66 patients with known outcome revealed an overall 5-year survival rate of 6%. The authors conclude that the disease tends to have a relatively higher incidence in Japan (Far East). When comparing the parameters of sex, age, presenting symptom, histopathology, treatment and prognosis, urachal carcinoma appears to have the same characteristics in the Far East as in Western countries.