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Is hypervascular papillary renal cell carcinoma present?

  • Kidneys, Ureters, Bladder, Retroperitoneum
  • Published:
Abdominal Radiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

We aimed to investigate atypical papillary renal cell carcinoma (PRCC) presenting with early contrast enhancement and late washout and to investigate the correlation between the CT attenuation value of the corticomedullary phase (CMP) of contrast-enhanced CT in PRCCs and the endothelial cell counts of these tumors.

Methods

Twenty-two patients with pathologically confirmed PRCC were enrolled in this study. PRCCs were categorized into 18 typical PRCCs and 4 atypical PRCCs. The CT attenuation value of the lesion in the CMP was measured in the maximal section of the tumor using the region of interest. Microvessel density (MVD) was evaluated as a histopathologic parameter using tissue specimens immunohistochemically stained with an anti-ERG antibody. The CT attenuation value and MVD were compared between atypical and typical PRCCs using the Mann–Whitney U test, where p < 0.05 was considered significant. The correlations between CT attenuation value and MVD were evaluated in all PRCCs using single linear regression analysis.

Results

The mean CT attenuation value and the MVD were significantly higher in atypical than in typical PRCCs. Correlation analyses revealed a weak positive correlation between the CT attenuation value and MVD.

Conclusions

We confirmed several cases of atypical PRCC that present with early contrast enhancement, such as clear cell renal cell carcinoma. In addition, a positive correlation was found between the CT attenuation value in the CMP of PRCCs and the vascular endothelial cell count.

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Abbreviations

CCRCC:

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma

CMP:

Corticomedullary phase

CT:

Computed tomography

HU:

Hounsfield unit

MVD:

Microvessel density

PRCC:

Papillary renal cell carcinoma

RCC:

Renal cell carcinoma

ROI:

Region of interest

TDC:

Time density curve

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Mrs. Hiromi Ito for editing the manuscript.

Funding

This study did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Correspondence to Tatsuya Yamamoto.

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The authors of this manuscript declare no relationships with any companies whose products or services may be related to the subject matter of the article.

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This retrospective study was approved by the institutional review board with a waiver of written informed consent.

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Yamamoto, T., Gulanbar, A., Hayashi, K. et al. Is hypervascular papillary renal cell carcinoma present?. Abdom Radiol 46, 1687–1693 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-020-02809-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-020-02809-8

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