Incidental Finding of an Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumor of the Urinary Bladder: A Case Report

Panagiotis A Panagopoulos; Konstantinos Douroumis; Penelope Korkolopoulou; Angeliki Papachristou; Afroditi Nonni; Dionysios Mitropoulos; Napoleon Moulavasilis; Evangelos Fragkiadis

doi:10.7759/cureus.90006

Incidental Finding of an Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumor of the Urinary Bladder: A Case Report

Cureus. 2025 Aug 13;17(8):e90006. doi: 10.7759/cureus.90006. eCollection 2025 Aug.

Authors

Panagiotis A Panagopoulos¹, Konstantinos Douroumis¹, Penelope Korkolopoulou², Angeliki Papachristou², Afroditi Nonni², Dionysios Mitropoulos³, Napoleon Moulavasilis⁴, Evangelos Fragkiadis³

Affiliations

¹ First Department of Urology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) School of Medicine, Athens, GRC.
² First Department of Pathology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) School of Medicine, Athens, GRC.
³ First Department of Urology, Laiko General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), Athens, GRC.
⁴ First Department of Urology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, GRC.

Abstract

Bladder inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs) are rare lesions with intermediate malignant potential and unclear management guidelines. We report the case of a 61-year-old male presenting with lower urinary tract symptoms and a bladder mass. Histology revealed spindle cells with mild atypia and chronic inflammation, and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) positivity suggested a TPM3-ALK fusion. The tumor was completely resected via transurethral resection of the bladder tumor (TURBT), with no recurrence at the six-month follow-up. This case illustrates the diagnostic complexity of bladder IMTs and emphasizes the importance of histopathology and close surveillance due to the risk of recurrence and rare metastasis.

Keywords: alk; imts; inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor; sma; urinary bladder.

Publication types

Case Reports