Preoperative stage diagnosis of renal cell carcinoma by CT, ultrasonography and angiography

Preoperative diagnosis of stage is very important in choosing the best treatment for renal cell carcinoma. The present study reports the accuracy of preoperative tumor staging by CT, ultrasonography (U. I. Octoson) and angiography in 7 cases of renal cell carcinoma. The preoperative stagings were compared with operative or autopsy findings. By operation and autopsy of the 7 cases, 3, 1 and 3 cases were confirmed to be at stages 1, 2 and 4A, respectively. In stage 1 which was confirmed by operation, CT and angiography seemed to be more useful than ultrasonography. It was difficult to distinguish stage 1 from stage 2 by ultrasonography, because the perinephric fatty tissue was not demonstrated as a distinct structure on the echogram. CT and ultrasonography were valuable in making the preoperative diagnosis of stage 4A cases. In conclusion, a more accurate preoperative staging of renal cell carcinoma would be possible when the diagnosis is based on the findings obtained by CT, ultrasonography and angiography. (author)