Massive upper gastrointestinal bleeding secondary to duodenal metastasis of transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder

Acute upper gastrointestinal (UGI) bleeding is a common problem in our clinical practice and is often due to peptic ulcer diseases. Occasionally, malignancy may be implicated in these situations. Here we report a rare case of UGI bleeding secondary to metastatic transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the urinary bladder. A 62-year-old man with a history of stage IIIb TCC of the urinary bladder presented with hematemesis. Endoscopy showed a large tumor in the second stage of the duodenum that occupied 40% of the duodenal circumference, over 7 cm in length. Biopsies revealed a poorly differentiated malignant neoplasm consistent with metastasis from urothelial carcinoma that was identical to the previous surgical specimen of the urinary bladder. He was treated with supportive therapy and intravenous proton pump inhibitor and was discharged home 2 weeks later. Two weeks after discharge, the patient returned to the hospital with a painful swelling of the floor of his mouth. Biopsy again showed the same cancer type. He had unremitting bleeding from his mouth requiring multiple transfusions and a course of palliative radiation therapy. He progressively deteriorated in his cardiopulmonary and neurological functions and expired with cardiopulmonary arrest one month later.