Membranous glomerulonephritis and transitional cell carcinoma, improved proteinuria after each tumor resection

Nephrotic syndrome has been described in association with solid tumours, such as carcinoma of the lung or colon, whilst the relationship between urinary tract cancers and proteinuria is reported less frequently. We describe a case of a 75-year-old man with nephrotic syndrome and relapsing transitional cell carcinoma affecting the bladder. Renal biopsy showed membranous nephropathy. The patient underwent four transurethral tumour resections and each time we observed improved proteinuria by 3-4 weeks after surgery. On the contrary, steroid treatment was clearly unrelated to this improvement. We conclude that, at least in this case, surgical treatment of the tumour led to improved proteinuria whilst steroid treatment was not beneficial.