High-grade Urothelial Carcinoma with Malignant Melanocytic Differentiation

Abstract

Urothelial carcinoma usually shows divergent differentiation and variant histology with squamous and glandular morphology being most common. In this report, we present a case of divergent malignant melanocytic differentiation in a high-grade urothelial carcinoma. A 98-year-old East Asian woman with an anterior bladder wall mass underwent resection, which revealed a high-grade poorly differentiated tumor. A minor component of high-grade papillary urothelial carcinoma and carcinoma in situ is also present. The majority of the tumor cells are morphologically and immunohistochemically consistent with melanoma, a minority of cells are positive for urothelial markers, and rare cells coexpress both melanocytic and urothelial markers. Cells that express melanocytic markers or urothelial markers are intimately admixed together. Taken together, a diagnosis of high-grade urothelial carcinoma with malignant melanocytic differentiation was rendered. This is the first report in the literature of malignant melanocytic differentiation in a high-grade urothelial carcinoma, a finding that may have important diagnostic and therapeutic implications.