Clinical and radiological aspects of infiltrating transitional cell carcinoma of the kidney.

We reviewed the sonographic, CT and angiographic findings in 19 patients with infiltrating transitional cell carcinoma of the kidney. Sonography revealed a defect of the central echo in 18 patients, and a low or slightly low echoic tumor in 15. Enhanced CT showed a poorly marginated tumor with lower attenuation than that of normal parenchyma in all 8 patients examined. Angiography showed narrowing and stretching of interlobar and arcuate arteries arranged radially from the renal hilus in all 11 patients examined and fine neovascularity in 10. These findings, especially the angiographic findings, were useful for distinguishing this disease from the common type renal cell carcinomas, and other infiltrating diseases of the kidney, such as lymphomas and sarcomas. Since the prognoses of these patients were poor with 1- and 2-year survival rates of 11.6 and 5.8%, respectively, careful examination of the above-mentioned findings was stressed to diagnose this disease.