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Upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma on multidetector CT: spectrum of disease

  • Special Section : Urothelial Disease
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Abdominal Radiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

A Correction to this article was published on 14 November 2019

This article has been updated

Abstract

Urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary tract (UUT) is a relatively uncommon genitourinary malignancy, accounting for about 5–7% of urothelial tumors. The significant features of this tumor are multifocality and high rate of recurrence. Computed tomography urography (CTU) has replaced excretory urography (EU) and retrograde pyelography (RP) for imaging of upper tract urothelial carcinoma. While many studies have confirmed high sensitivity (88–100%) and specificity (93–100%) of CTU, an optimized CT protocol is of critical importance in screening, staging, and post-operative follow-up of patients (Chlapoutakis, Eur J Radiol 73(2):334–338, 2010; Caoli and Cohan, Abdom Radiol (NY) 41(6):1100–1107, 2016). The key element of the CT protocol is to have adequate distension of the collecting system with excreted contrast, to detect subtle lesions at an early stage. In this article, we discuss the background of upper urinary tract TTC, pathogenesis, CT protocol and the role of imaging in evaluation of this malignancy, staging, as well as different imaging appearances.

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Change history

  • 14 November 2019

    The original version of this article contained an error in one of the author name. The co-author name was published as “Elliot Fishman”, instead it should be “Elliot K. Fishman”. The original article has been corrected.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, 601 N. Caroline Street/JHOC 3235A, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    Osama Ali, Elliot K. Fishman & Sheila Sheth

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  1. Osama Ali
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  2. Elliot K. Fishman
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  3. Sheila Sheth
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Correspondence to Osama Ali.

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The original version of this article was revised: The co-author name “Elliot Fishman” is published without middle initial. However, it is corrected as “Elliot K. Fishman”.

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Ali, O., Fishman, E.K. & Sheth, S. Upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma on multidetector CT: spectrum of disease. Abdom Radiol 44, 3874–3885 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-019-02173-2

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