Analysis of the characteristics of patients with bladder cancer diagnosed of multiple neoplasms in the health district of León (Spain)

We analyzed the characteristics of the patients with bladder neoplasms who developed a multiple malignant primary neoplasm (MMPN) in the health district of León, the impact on survival and the prognostic variables. We have used the data from the Tumor Registry of the Hospital of León and selected all those patients who were diagnosed of a bladder tumor between 1993 and 2002. They were classified into two groups: the first with 71 patients with MMPN and a second group with 159 patients with single bladder tumors diagnosed between 1996 and 1997. Incidence of MMPN was of 7.1 percent. More than half of the patients had familial oncologic background. The second most frequently diagnosed neoplasms were urologic, followed by gastrointestinal and respiratory. Survival of patients with MMPN was 21 percent lower than single neoplasms. Variables with prognosis significance were the stage of the second neoplasm, diagnosis of a second urologic neoplasm and surgery treatment for the second tumor. MMPN in patients with bladder tumors are frequent in our geographic area. The high frequency of familial oncologic antecedents in these patients suggest a genetic background. Prognosis of MMPN patients is worse than single tumors patients, but no differences were observed regarding prognosis in patients with synchronous or metachronous MMPN.