Primary grade 1 transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis and ureter.

During a 22-year period 224 patients were seen for treatment of transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis or ureter. Of these patients 49 (22 per cent) had grade 1 lesions. Followup ranged from 5 to 25 years. The most common symptom was hematuria. In only 54 per cent of the 49 patients was a filling defect noted on excretory urography. Forty-seven patients (96 per cent) had stage I disease. Treatment included total nephroureterectomy, nephrectomy or segmental resection. In 11 patients (23 per cent) evidence of bladder tumor developed 8 months to 12 years (average 4 years) after the diagnosis of tumor of the upper urinary tract and 73 per cent of these recurrences were noted within the first 3 years. In 1 patient a tumor developed in the opposite upper urinary tract. In only 1 of 15 patients who had had partial ureterectomy or local excision tumor developed in the ipsilateral ureter. Patient survival time was identical to that in an age-matched control group. We conclude that the most significant findings are the subsequent high incidence (23 per cent) of bladder tumor and the comparable survival in these pateints and in an age-matched control group. Furthermore, these results suggest that operations preserving the renal parenchyma, that is segmental resection, should be used more frequently.