Early recurrence of bladder cancer in the colon after robot-assisted radical cystectomy: Disappearance following dose-dense methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin and cisplatin treatment

Introduction: The popularity of robot-assisted radical cystectomy over open radical cystectomy has been increasing because the former, a minimally invasive surgery, contributes to earlier recovery and shorter hospitalization. However, atypical recurrences may be more frequent after robot-assisted radical cystectomy than after open radical cystectomy. We report a case of an atypical early recurrence of bladder cancer including the descending colon. Case presentation: A 70-year-old Japanese man underwent robot-assisted radical cystectomy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Four months later, he was hospitalized for severe anemia (hemoglobin, 5.1 g/dL). Colonoscopy revealed a 4-cm submucosal oozing tumor in the descending colon. Computed tomography revealed multiple recurrent lesions including recurrence in the descending colon, all of which disappeared completely after chemotherapy with six cycles of dose-dense methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin, and cisplatin. Conclusion: We encountered a rare case of an atypical recurrence of bladder cancer in the colon after robot-assisted radical cystectomy.