Key result
Bladder cancer specimen screening successfully identifies unsuspected wild-type ATTR cardiac amyloidosis.
Why the study?
Although extracardiac amyloid deposition can aid diagnosis, bladder biopsy is generally not recommended compared to skin or gastrointestinal mucosal biopsies, but recent studies suggest a histopathologic association between bladder cancer and bladder amyloidosis.
Case Report (n=1)
In patients undergoing cystectomy, histopathologic screening of the resected bladder specimen may provide an alternative tissue source for diagnosing ATTR-CA.
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Cystectomy histopathology may enable opportunistic wild-type transthyretin amyloid detection; leaves open its value for routine screening pending validation.
Transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CA) is characterized by the systemic deposition of transthyretin-derived amyloid fibrils, affecting predominantly the myocardium. Although extracardiac amyloid deposition can provide valuable diagnostic tissue, bladder biopsy is generally not recommended compared to skin or gastrointestinal mucosal biopsies. However, recent studies suggest a potential histopathologic association between bladder cancer and bladder amyloidosis.1 Consequently, in patients undergoing cystectomy for malignancies or other indications, histopathologic screening for amyloid deposits in the resected specimen may yield significant diagnostic utility.
Fujio et al. (2026) conducted a case report in Transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CA) (n=1). Histopathologic screening of bladder cancer resection specimen was evaluated. Histopathologic screening for amyloid deposits in a bladder cancer resection specimen successfully yielded a confirmed diagnosis of wild-type transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis.