Urogenital tract amyloidosis: clinico-pathological study of 8 cases

Amyloidosis of the genito-urinary tract is uncommon. We report 8 cases, oft en misdiagnosed as a neoplastic process (6/8). Amyloidosis was localized in the bladder (3 cases), in the ureter (1 case) and in the prostate and/or s eminal vesicles (4 cases). The amyloid protein was characterized in 7 cases by immunohistochemistry. Among the bladder and ureter amyloidosis, 2 cases were classified as AL lambda amyloidosis and one case as AA amyloidosis in a patient with long history of chronic arthritis. In the fourth case, the deposits could not be identified. Nevertheless an AL amyloidosis might be s uggested Two cases of prostate and/or seminal vesicles amyloidosis were sta ined with an anti-beta 2M antibody, in hemodialyzed patients. The 2 others, positive with the anti-Transthyretine antibody, were classified as senile amyloidosis. This small series illustrated the heterogeneous pathogenic typ es of amyloidosis in the urogenital tract and emphasized the interest of im munohistochemistry to identify the chemical composition of these deposits.