Several months worsening leg pain in a patient with prior resection of colon adenoca, with multiple haemorrhagic cystitis.
An 88-year-old woman turned to the emergency department of our hospital for acute exacerbation of pain in her right leg. The leg looked slightly swollen, warm and flushed, strongly painful both spontaneously as well as by digital pressure. The patient had undergone, several years before, resection of colon for adenoca and in recent months has suffered from repeated episodes of haemorrhagic cystitis, for which she was submitted two months prior to cystoscopy, which did not show any sign of parietal lesion. Blood tests revealed increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate.
Plain radiography (Fig. 1) shows widespread patchy reduction of calcium content, with fuzzy appearance of cortical bone.
For clinical suspicion of osteomyelitis a bone scan (Fig. 2) was performed; nuclear medicine confirmed this diagnosis, putting it in differential diagnosis with a pagetic disease.
CT was then performed (Fig. 3): it showed widespread osteolysis of tibia with moth-eaten appearance of the cortical bone in relation to a strongly aggressive process, with neoplastic characters. Sonography permetted to well appreciate periosteal reaction (Fig. 5).
At this point we proceed to biopsy of the tibia and, simultaneously, with abdominal CT (Fig. 4), which detects the presence of a thickening bladder dome, with hypervascularity, referred to infiltrative process, confirmed by a subsequent cystoscopy.
Both bone and bladder biopsy show a similar picture of urothelial micropapillary tumour.
Urothelial cancer or transitional cells tumour represents approximately 90% of bladder tumours. Micropapillary form is a rare variant (approximately 60 cases reported in the literature until 2003, according to the WHO tumour classification) among urothelial tumours. It is predominant between the fifth and ninth decade of life and its main characteristic is a high metastatic power, which, unlike other urothelial tumours, occurs mainly in the skeleton. Metastases may already be advanced at diagnosis time, as in our case where they preceded the clinical presentation of primary tumour.
In the exposed case the high aggressiveness of the metastatic lesion is documented by the typical infiltrative picture, index of rapid growth, represented by very blurred edge of osteolysis , disintegration of bone architecture with permeative appearance, periosteal reaction, and presence of a component in soft tissues around the bone.
Lodwick et al [5] classified the plain-film appearance of lucent bone lesions as geographic, moth-eaten, and permeative. Geographic lesions (type I) are generally well-circumscribed "holes" in bone that can be further subclassified by the appearance of the border as IA (sclerotic), IB (well defined), or IC (poorly defined). Moth-eaten lesions (type II) generally represent a confluence of small lytic areas in the bone such as those seen in the most of metastatic disease. Permeative lesions (type III) preserve the outline of the bone but reveal numerous small, diffuse lytic lesions such as those commonly seen in very aggressive lesions such as round cell tumors (eg, Ewing's sarcoma, myeloma). Increasing the radiographic grade generally corresponds well with the aggressiveness of the lesion. Radiographic appearance of the margin tends to correspond well with the aggressiveness of the tumor.
Enneking [6] classified lesions of bone as latent, active, or aggressive, based on the radiographic appearance. In latent lesions, a thick reactive rim of bone forms around the tumor. In active lesions, a thin cortical shell may form around the lesion. This shell often appears expansile, even through the cortex, where new periosteal bone will form around the tumor mass. Aggressive lesions lack a rim of reactive bone as rapid growth of the tumor prevents bone formation in the reactive zone surrounding the lesion.
Additional clues about the lesion can be obtained from endosteal and periosteal reactions. Endosteal scalloping is indicative of a more active lesion, although it may slowly form over a prolonged period of time. Periosteal reaction varies widely and represents involvement of the outer cortical rim by the tumor or its reactive rim. These reactions have been classified as solid, spiculated (eg, hair on end, sunburst), Codman's triangle, unorganized, or sloping (velvet) based on the appearance and aggressiveness of the lesion.
In our patient the tipical permeative picture for an highly aggressive lesion is well rappresented. The periosteal reaction can be classified as solid and it was well seen also by sonography.
In these patients CT is gold standard imaging procedure, in order to assess these subtle changes in bone and periosteal line and to characterise the lesion.
Micropapillary variant of urothelial bladder tumour with tibial metastatic lesion
This patient is an 88-year-old female with a surgical history of colonic adenocarcinoma. Over the past few months, she has experienced worsening pain in the right lower limb (tibia/femur).
From the provided X-ray, bone scan, and CT examinations, the following features are observed:
Based on the above imaging findings and the patient's medical history, the following differential diagnoses are considered:
Taking into account the patient’s advanced age, recurrent hematuria, history of bladder lesion, pathologically confirmed micropapillary urothelial carcinoma (micropapillary variant), and the multiple bone metastatic features on imaging, the most likely diagnosis is:
“Bone Metastases from Micropapillary Urothelial Carcinoma”
If feasible, bone lesion biopsy or repeat pathological examination of the bladder primary site could further confirm the subtype and diagnosis. However, from the overall clinical history and imaging features, this fits the high-aggressiveness and bone-metastatic tendencies of micropapillary urothelial carcinoma.
Given the patient’s advanced age and fragile bones, rehabilitation exercises should be performed gradually and safely. Adhering to the FITT-VP principle (Frequency, Intensity, Time, Type, Progression), the specific recommendations are as follows:
Throughout this process, it is crucial to have family or professional caregivers accompany the patient and to adjust the exercise regimen under the guidance of a rehabilitation therapist. If there is a marked increase in pain, local swelling, or any other discomfort, the patient should seek medical attention promptly. If bone destruction leads to structural instability, early consultation with an orthopedic surgeon is recommended to discuss the need for surgical fixation or brace support.
Disclaimer:
This report is a reference analysis based on the current imaging and clinical data available, and does not replace in-person consultation or professional medical advice. Specific diagnosis and treatment should still be determined by integrating the patient’s comprehensive clinical evaluation and further test results.
Micropapillary variant of urothelial bladder tumour with tibial metastatic lesion