The Diagnostic Usefulness of Computed Tomography of Transitional Cell Carcinoma of the Renal Pelvis and Ureter / 대한비뇨기과학회지

ABSTRACT

We evaluated the usefulness of preoperative computed tomography (CT) in 26 patients with transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the renal pelvis or ureter. Also we had comparative analysis between CT and conventional urography in diagnosis. The conventional imaging methods such as excretory urography and retrograde pyelography are helpful in localizing the lesions but usually cannot detect extension into the peripelvic and/or periureteral fat or metastasis to the lymph nodes. Of 17 patients who were thought localized by CT, 16 were localized in the mucosa or muscle layer and 1 was invasive to periureteral or peripelvic tissue pathologically. Of 8 patients who were thought invasive to periureteral or peripelvic tissue by CT, 5 were identical and 3 were metastatic to lymph nodes pathologically In conclusion, preoperative CT is thought to be useful tool for the diagnosis and staging in TCC of the pelvis or ureter and the sensitivity and specificity of CT were higher in localized diseases than in advanced diseases.