Pheochromocytoma of the urinary bladder

Two patients with bladder pheochromocytoma are presented and 22 previously published cases are reviewed. From the analysis of these 24 patients the following conclusions are made: bladder pheochromocytoma may appear at any age but is more common in the second and fourth decades. Females are more often affected than males. The clinical diagnosis is established when a combination of nonspecific urinary symptoms and those related to the secretion of catecholamines occur. However, the most accurate method for the preoperative diagnosis of bladder pheochromocytoma is the determination of catecholamines or their metabolites in the urine or the blood. The biologic behavior, pathologic features, histochemical reactions, and ultrastructural characteristics of bladder pheochromocytoma are similar to those of pheochromocytomas from other sites.