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Upper-tract urothelial cancer comprises only 3% of all urothelial cancers. Risk factors include tobacco smoking, recurrent urinary infection, urolithiasis and analgesic abuse. Urolithiasis-induced chronic inflammation leads to urothelial proliferation and eventual malignant transformation. The most common association is reported with squamous cell cancer. A 54-year man under evaluation for right flank pain was diagnosed with a large distal ureteric stone and urothelial cancer of the entire right ureter and renal pelvis. The patient underwent right nephroureterectomy and stone retrieval, with urinary bladder cuff excision and pelvic lymph node dissection. On follow-up, the patient succumbed to disease recurrence with widespread metastasis. Urothelial cancer associated with stone disease is atypical. Long-standing inflammation causing metaplastic and dysplastic changes is a possible hypothesis. Careful assessment of the malignancy should be looked for in patients with long-standing obstruction due to stone disease.

A 61-year-old man presented with weight loss, dysphagia and vomiting. A barium swallow revealed a duodenal obstruction at D3. CT of the abdomen and pelvis showed a left upper ureteric tumour extending to the renal pelvis compressing the duodenum and causing left-sided hydronephrosis. Cystoscopy and left-sided ureteroscopy proved difficult and were unable to visualise or biopsy the mass, but a left ureteric stent was placed. Laparoscopic biopsy of the mass was completed and histology revealed transitional cell carcinoma. The patient went on to receive palliative chemotherapy, which relieved the small bowel obstruction, and the patient was able to eat solid food 8 weeks later. This case highlights a previously unreported cause of duodenal obstruction., (2015 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.)

Renal complex cysts are lesions whose nature can be either benign or malignant. Depending on the presence of septa, solid components, enhancement or calcifications, they are distinguished according to the Bosniak classification based on CT findings, as well as MRI and ETG. We report a rare case of urothelial carcinoma, originating over a pyelocalyceal cyst in a 50-year-old man, and classified as Bosniak IIF by CT and MRI investigations.

Objectives: To analyse the predictive factors for worse pathological outcome (muscle invasive pT2+, non-organ-confined pT3+ or N+ and histological Grade 3) of upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) in a Chinese population from a nationwide high-volume centre in China., Patients and Methods: Predictors were studied by retrospectively reviewing the clinicopathological data of 729 consecutive patients with UTUC treated in our centre from January 2002 to December 2010. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used., Results: There were more female patients (56.4%) than males and more tumours were located in the ureter (52.7%) than in the pelvis. In multivariate analysis, male gender (hazard ratio [HR] 1.898, P = 0.001), sessile architecture (HR 3.249, P < 0.001), high grade (HR 5.007, P < 0.001), ipsilateral hydronephrosis (HR 4.768, P < 0.001), renal pelvis location (HR 2.620, P < 0.001) and tumour without multifocality (HR 1.639, P = 0.028) were predictive factors for muscle-invasive UTUC. Male gender (HR 2.132, P < 0.001), renal pelvis location (HR 3.466, P < 0.001), tumour without multifocality (HR 2.532, P = 0.001), sessile tumour architecture (HR 3.274, P < 0.001), and high grade (HR 3.019, P < 0.001) were predictive factors for non-organ-confined disease. Chronological old age (HR 1.047, P < 0.001), sessile tumour architecture (HR 25.192, P < 0.001), ipsilateral hydronephrosis (HR 1.689, P = 0.024), and positive urinary cytology (HR 1.997, P = 0.006) were predictive factors for histological Grade 3 UTUC., Conclusions: There was a predominance of female patients and ureteric tumours in UTUCs of this Chinese population. Male gender, sessile architecture, tumour location, tumour without multifocality, high histological grade and preoperative ipsilateral hydronephrosis were independent predictive factors for worse pathological outcome of UTUCs., (© 2013 The Authors. BJU International © 2013 BJU International.)

A 62-year-old man was suffering from asymptomatic gross hematuria. Abdominal computed tomography demonstrated a horseshoe kidney and renal pelvic tumor in the left kidney. Open nephrectomy with division of the isthmus was performed. The pathological diagnosis was urothelial carcinoma, grade 2＞ grade 3, pT3. He is free of disease at 13 months after operation. To our knowledge, in Japan, this is the 33th case of renal pelvic tumor in a horseshoe kidney.

We report two cases of spontaneous urinary rupture caused by primary ureteral or renal pelvic cancer. Case 1: A 76-year-old man presented with macrohematuria and left back pain. Magnetic resonance imaging showed left middle ureteral tumor and rupture of upper ureter. Left nephroureterectomy was performed. Histological findings revealed urothelial carcinoma, G2, pT1, lt-u0, ew0, ly0, v1. At five months postoperatively, he died of lymph node metastases after two courses of adjuvant chemotherapy. Case 2: A 59-year-old man presented with macrohematuria and left back pain. Computer tomography showed left renal pelvic tumor with extravasation of urine. Left nephroureterectomy was performed. Examination of surgical specimen revealed a renal pelvic tumor and rupture hole at the renal pelvis. Histological finding revealed urothelial carcinoma, G3, pT3, lt-u0, ly0, v1. One course of adjuvant chemotherapy was performed. At six months postoperatively, he was free from recurrence.

A 62-year-old man consulted us for further examination of left giant hydronephrosis which was accidentally found by abdominal ultrasonography. The patient chose observation instead of left nephrectomy. One year later, he re-visited us with a complaint of sudden abdominal pain. Computed tomography (CT) revealed left giant hydronephrosis containing high-density fluid which was suspected of hemorrhage in the renal pelvis. Percutaneous nephrostomy yielded discharge of 7000 ml of hemorrhagic fluid and urine cytology revealed class V. Systemic examination by CT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed renal pelvic tumors in the left kidney as well as multiple metastatic lesions in the lung, liver and bone. Pathological examination of the left renal pelvic tumors obtained by biopsy showed high-grade urothelial carcinoma. Although systemic and intra-arterial chemotherapy showed partial response in the metastatic lesions, he died of cancer 1 year and 3 months after the first diagnosis.

We describe a case of urothelial carcinoma of renal pelvis in a 48 years old woman affected of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). We discuss the difficulty of the radiological diagnostic and we revise the incidence of renal tumors in this entity. Association between urothelial carcinoma and ADPKD is highly infrequent and without apparently causal relation.

A 6-year-old male, Belgian shepherd dog was presented with lethargy, oliguria, hematuria, and reluctance to move. The dog developed hypertrophic osteopathy secondary to renal pelvis transitional cell carcinoma. A nephrectomy was performed and after a year, the dog was completely asymptomatic, and no evidence of metastatic disease was present.

Background: Neglected renal stones remain a major cause of morbidity in developing countries. They not only result in functional impairment of affected kidney, but also act as an important predisposing factor for development of urothelial neoplasms. It is not uncommon to miss an associated urothelial tumor in a patient of nephrolithiasis preoperatively., Case Presentation: In last 3 years, we came across two patients with giant staghorn calculus and poorly functioning kidneys who underwent laparoscopic nephrectomy. In view of significant perirenal adhesions & loss of normal tissue planes both these patients were electively converted to open surgery. The pathological examination of specimen revealed an unsuspected urothelial carcinoma in both these patients. The summary of our cases and review of literature is presented., Conclusion: It is important to keep a differential diagnosis of associated urothelial malignancy in mind in patient presenting with long standing renal calculi. The exact role of a computerized tomography and cytology in preoperative workup for detection of possible associated malignancy in such condition is yet to be defined. Similarly if laparoscopic dissection appears difficult during nephrectomy for a renal calculus with non-functional kidney, keeping a possibility of associated urothelial malignancy in mind it is advisable to dissect in a plane outside gerotas fascia as for radical nephrectomy.

Introduction: Pseudo-Meigs' syndrome is associated with tumors different from the benign ovary tumor, but it has never been described in association to transitional cell carcinoma., Case Report: A female 73 year-old patient presenting pleural effusion nonmetastatic associated with renal pelvis transitional cell carcinoma that resolved and did not recur after radical nephroureterectomy., Comments: Renal pelvis transitional cell carcinoma can result in the Pseudo-Meigs' syndrome. Although being a rare clinical entity, the identification of such syndrome can result in an accurate diagnosis, leading to an efficient surgical treatment, without comorbidity for the patient.

Introduction: The association between staghorn calculus of the kidney long-standing and urothelial tumors of the renal pelvis is well documented. We describe 3 patients with urothelial cancer in a kidney who underwent percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL)., Patients and Methods: Retrospective analysis of our series of more than 500 PCNLs revealed 3 patients in whom urothelial cancer of the renal pelvis was diagnosed during or following percutaneous stone removal. Preoperative assessment included IVP, renal sonography and renal scan using DTPA in all 3 patients, and CT in 2 patients. Imaging did not raise the suspicion of a neoplastic lesion., Results: All patients had a long history of urolithiasis and urinary infections. No patient was diagnosed preoperatively. One patient was diagnosed postoperatively, when a CT demonstrated a renal lesion. The second patient underwent simple nephrectomy due to a non-functioning kidney, and the tumor was found on pathological analysis. In the third patient, biopsies were taken from a suspicious-looking tissue in the renal pelvis during the PCNL session. All patients had transitional cell carcinoma: 1 associated with sarcomatoid features and 1 with squamous carcinoma. They all died from metastatic disease 2-19 months after the diagnosis of urothelial cancer., Conclusions: The preoperative diagnosis of urothelial cancer in patients with staghorn stones is difficult due to the existing stone and inflammation. Since the prognosis of urothelial cancer is extremely poor, biopsies of the renal pelvis, obtained directly through the nephroscope during the PCNL session, may be the only key for early diagnosis and treatment. A high index of suspicion should be raised when patients suffering from infected staghorn calculi are encountered, and such intraoperative biopsies should be considered., (2005 S. Karger AG, Basel)

A 40-year-old man with asymptomatic gross hematuria visited our hospital. He had been followed up on the horseshoe kidney and left ureteral stone. Cystoscopy revealed a flow of gross hematuria from the left orifice. Drip infusion pyelography, retrograde pyelography, abdominal computerized tomography, magnetic resonance imaging revealed a renal pelvic mass in the upper pole of left kidney. Left nephroureterectomy and isthmusectomy and partial cystectomy were done. A microwave tissue coagulator (Microtaze AZM-520, AZWELL) was used to divide the isthmus. There was very little bleeding and leakage of urine from the divided isthmus. The postoperative course was favorable.

A 73-year-old man was admitted to the hospital complaining of gross hematuria and left flank pain. Abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography revealed a left renal tumor with extracapsular extension. Laboratory data showed marked leukocytosis of 121,000/mm3 and hypercalcemia of 12.3 mg/dl without any findings of inflammatory disease or bone metastasis. Enzyme immunoassay of the serum demonstrated a high level of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (250 pg/ml) and parathyroid hormone-related protein (1,069 pmol/l). Pathological diagnosis of needle biopsy specimen of the primary tumor was transitional cell carcinoma which was suspected to have originated from renal pelvis. Immunohistochemical examination with anti-granulocyte colony-stimulating factor monoclonal antibody demonstrated granulocyte colony-stimulating factor production in cancer cells. The patient underwent a course of systemic chemotherapy, but died two months after diagnosis. To our knowledge, this is the first report of renal pelvic cancer representing granulocyte colony-stimulating factor production and hypercalcemia simultaneously.

A 76-year-old man was seen at this hospital for the treatment of asymptomatic gross hematuria. Retrograde pyelography revealed a filling defect in the left lower calyx. The diagnosis was left renal pelvic carcinoma by urinary cytology. The patient underwent left nephrouretectomy with partial cystectomy. Hemosiderin accumulation on histological examination demonstrated an arteriovenous malformation in the left lower calyx. Transitional cell carcinoma was confirmed apart from the arteriovenous malformation, and no relation between the two was seen. These findings suggest the coexistence of a renal arteriovenous malformation with a renal pelvic and ureteral carcinoma. Hematuria was due probably to rupture of the renal arteriovenous malformation.

Background: To study the usefulness and safety of ureteropyeloscopy in the diagnosis of upper tract hematuria of unknown etiology by standard diagnostic methods., Methods: Fifteen patients with upper tract hematuria of unknown etiology were the subjects of the present study. Prior to ureteropyeloscopy, they underwent standard diagnostic methods, including cystourethroscopy, excretory urography and computed tomography scan. The upper tract (ureter, renal pelvis and calyces) was inspected systematically with a flexible ureteropyeloscope under epidural anesthesia. A biopsy specimen was obtained when neoplasm of a suspicious lesion was seen. Bleeding and hemangiomatous lesions were fulgurated at the time of ureteropyeloscopy., Results: Unilateral gross hematuria was seen in 12 patients. Imaging studies revealed a filling defect in four patients, ureteral stenosis in one patient and nutcracker phenomenon in one patient. Urine cytology was positive in three patients and suspicious in four patients. Results of ureteropyeloscopy were papillary tumor in three patients, whitish encrustation in one patient, redness of the renal pelvis in one patient, bleeding from the renal calyx in two patients, hemangiomatous lesion in one patient, ureteral stenosis in two patients and no abnormalities in five patients. Biopsies were performed in five patients. The pathology results were transitional cell carcinoma in four patients and no abnormality in one patient. Although a ureteral stent catheter was placed in one patient, no serious complications were encountered during or after the procedures., Conclusions: Ureteropyeloscopy was useful and relatively safe. This endoscopic examination can differentiate insignificant lesions from significant lesions by visual inspection of the lesions, in addition, pathological diagnosis by biopsy specimen can also be performed if deemed necessary. Ureteropyeloscopy is recommended in the diagnosis of upper tract hematuria of unknown etiology.

Objective: Epithelial neoplasms of the upper collecting system account for less than 5 percent of all urothelial tumors and they are not histologically unlike those of the bladder. We report a case of pelviocaliceal urothelial carcinoma associated with a calculus in the renal pelvis., Methods: A 75-year-old man who presented with hematuria, fever and flank pain is described. The US and CT findings disclosed a calculus in the left renal pelvis and hydronephrosis nephrectomy was performed., Results: The pathological analysis revealed a pelviocaliceal urothelial carcinoma on an underlying stone and overexpression of the p53 protein., Conclusion: Diagnostic imaging techniques may fail to detect tumors of the renal pelvis with a large underlying stone. The overexpression of the p53 protein may be involved in the malignant transformation of the urothelial cells.

Only 35 cases of cancer with palmar fasciitis and polyarthritis have been published to date. We report two new cases, one with a transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis and the other with an adenocarcinoma of the uterus. Neither of these locations has been reported in association with palmar fasciitis and polyarthritis. Palmar fasciitis with polyarthritis can occur in a wide range of cancers and warrants extensive investigations for a malignant tumor.

We report a case of transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis with vena caval tumor thrombus. To our knowledge only 14 cases of transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis protruding into the vena cava have been reported. The literature regarding these cases is reviewed, and the differential diagnosis of this tumor from renal cell carcinoma is discussed.

Two cases of spontaneous rupture of the renal parenchyma caused by the renal pelvic and the ureteral cancer are reported. Case 1 was in a 53-year-old male who had left flank pain 2 weeks before admission to the hospital. In retrograde pyelography, the left upper ureter was visualized irregularly, but the left pelvis was not visualized. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed perirenal hematoma. Left nephroureterectomy with bladder cuff was performed under diagnosis of left renal pelvic and ureteral cancer. The rupture of the left renal parenchyma with extracapsular hematoma was identified. Pathological diagnosis was transitional cell carcinoma, grade 2 and pT1 of the left renal pelvis and the left ureter. Case 2 was in a 57-year-old male who had left flank pain 2 hours after he had enhanced CT study. MRI showed the left pelvic and the ureteral cancer with perirenal hematoma after 4 days. Left nephrourererctomy and partial cystectomy were performed. The rupture of the renal parenchyma with subcapsular hematoma was identified. Pathological diagnosis was transitional cell carcinoma, grade 2 and pT1 of the left renal pelvis and the left ureter.

A case of spontaneous rupture of the right kidney caused by a primary renal pelvic tumor is reported. A 57-year-old man complaining of right flank pain and gross hematuria was referred to our hospital in November 1992. In 1982, transurethral resection of the bladder tumor (TUR-Bt) and vesical instillation with mitomycin-C (MMC) had been performed at another hospital for recurrent bladder tumor. In 1988, the excretory urogram showed right hydronephrosis in the absence of a bladder tumor. In 1992, the excretory urogram revealed nonvisualization of the right kidney and obscurity of the right psoas muscle shadow. On the retrograde pyelogram, the upper calyx was irregular and the middle and lower calices were not clearly visualized. Selective renal arteriography demonstrated loss of continuity between the middle portion and lower poles. Right nephroureterectomy with bladder cuff was performed. The severely dilated pelvis contained a large amount of coagula and a papillary tumor. The thin renal parenchyme was lacerated at the lower pole. Histopathological findings revealed noninvasive transitional cell carcinoma. The present case represents the 6th spontaneous renal rupture caused by a renal pelvic tumor reported in Japan.

A young, otherwise healthy man was hospitalized with clinical findings of acute retroperitoneal hemorrhage. Radiographic evaluation suggested a large bleeding renal mass that was thought to be renal cell carcinoma. Radical nephrectomy was performed after angio-embolization. Final pathological diagnosis was grade III transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis invading the renal parenchyma. Distal ureterectomy was subsequently performed 12 days after nephrectomy. Preoperative or intraoperative diagnosis of transitional cell carcinoma would have spared our patient the morbidity of a delayed second procedure. Transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute retroperitoneal hemorrhage.

Transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis is uncommon. Tuberculosis and cancer manifesting in the same kidney is even more unusual. To our knowledge we report the first case of tuberculosis and transitional cell carcinoma occurring in the same kidney.

A 74-year-old female presented with a two years history of malaise, weakness and intermittent gross hematuria. Two years earlier, left renal cyst had been diagnosed by excretory urography, abdominal sonography and computed-tomography. Initially she was treated conservatively with oral antibiotics, however medical management had not been successful in improving her condition. Finally she was transfer to our ward for further evaluation and treatment. Cystoscopic examination demonstrated no abnormality, except for bloody urine efflux from the right ureteric orifice. Right retrograde pyelograms confirmed a solitary filling defect in the upper calyx of right kidney. Because of immediate concern for right renal pelvic tumor and contralateral renal cyst, a midline transperitoneal exploration was made. The right nephroureterectomy with cuff of bladder was removed and left unroofing of cyst was carried out. Convalescence was uneventful. The pathologic examination revealed moderately differentiated transitional cell carcinoma of right kidney with a simple renal cyst of left kidney. We suggest that cases with a clinical diagnosis of renal cyst based on the presence of gross hematuria, a normals excretory urogram and computed tomogram, generally require further evaluation especially by cystoscope and retrograde pyelogram to determine the source of bleeding.

Ureteroscopic fulguration of a renal pelvic papillary transitional cell carcinoma is a relatively new and limited procedure. We present a case of intrarenal explosion during ureteroscopic fulguration.

We report on a patient with xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis, in situ transitional cell carcinoma, and focal prosoplasia revealing abrupt conversion of transitional epithelium to moderately well-differentiated adenocarcinoma. The etiology and pathogenesis of mucinous adenocarcinoma in the renal pelvis very likely involves the prosoplastic transition of pre-existing transitional carcinoma to adenocarcinoma. The urologist should be aware of the increased possibility of this tumor developing in a patient with longstanding infection, and frozen section should be performed more often because the gross structure of the tumor frequently appears normal. This permits the urologist to change his surgical strategy if frozen section is positive for tumor.

A 75-year-old woman with transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis was revealed to have sarcoid granulomas within the kidney as well as in the renal pedicle lymph nodes. Furthermore, noncaseating granulomas had been found in the pelvic lymph nodes in a histological study following previous total cystectomy for bladder cancer. The association of sarcoidosis with genitourinary malignancies is briefly discussed.

A 63-year-old man visited our hospital because of painless macrohematuria. Drip infusion pyelography and retrograde pyelography revealed a space-occupying lesion with extravasation of contrast medium to upper caliceal system. A computed tomographic study revealed an intrarenal solid moiety and further more, arteriography showed the arterial encasement and fine neovascularity of the lesion. On gross section of the extirpated kidney, a cystic cavity measuring 3 by 3 cm existed at the upper pole and apparently channeled to the upper caliceal system. Small stones were found in the cystic cavity. Histopathologically, the wall of the cavity was covered with layered squamous cells and a part of the wall developed metaplasic transitional cell carcinoma proliferation which invaded into the renal parenchyma and renal pelvis, as well.

A case of bone stone in association with a papillary transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis is reported. This type of lithiasis, actually representing bone metaplasia, is rare in the urinary tract and has never been reported in true epithelial urinary tumors.

Renal calculi weighing in excess of 100 gm. are rare, since most stones cause arrest of renal function before they reach giant proportions. We report a rare case of a 100 per cent struvite calculus weighing 698 gm., associated with transitional cell carcinoma of the ipsilaterl renal pelvis. A summary of the large calculi reported in the recent literature is included.

In the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, the incidence of renal pelvic carcinoma was found to be very high, and there appeared to be a causal relationship with analgesic abuse. The crude incidence rate was calculated at 1.6/100000 population per year. In half of the cases of renal pelvic carcinoma, there was evidence of analgesic abuse and/or analgesic nephropathy with papillary necrosis; in this group the male/female ratio was 1/2.6, and there was a tendency for the cancers to occur at a younger age. Tumours associated with analgesic nephropathy were more often poorly differentiated and in a more advanced stage at the time of diagnosis than those not associated with analgesic nephropathy. Multiple tumours were equally common in both groups, but coexistent flat carcinoma in situ tended to be more common in cases associated with analgesic nephropathy.

A case of transitional cell carcinoma in a pyelogenic cyst is presented. The pathogenesis of pyelogenic cysts and the clinical management of avascular cystic renal masses are discussed.

We present a case of primary ureteral carcinoma in the duplicated renal pelvis and ureter diagnosed by transurethral uretero-renoscopy. The case was of a 78-year-old man with the complaint of sudden asymptomatic macrohematuria. An excretory urogram strongly suggested the presence of duplication of the right collecting system, and cystoscopy revealed a gross hematuria from the right ureteral orifice. A retrograde ureteropyelogram revealed incomplete duplication of the right renal pelvis and ureter fused at about the ureter crossing over the iliac vessels, and a polyp-like filling defect in the lower segment of duplicated ureter at about 4 cm from the fusion of the ureters. Transurethral uretero-renoscopy was employed to investigate the filling defect, and a papillary tumor extended into the lower segment of duplicated ureter was revealed. Tumor was resected by a rigid operating instrument under transurethral uretero-renoscopy. The pathological diagnosis was grade I-transitional cell carcinoma of the ureter, so that right total nephroureterectomy with partial cystectomy was carried out subsequently. Surgical specimen after right total nephroureterectomy with partial cystectomy showed no other tumor in the pelvis or ureter macroscopically, and histopathological studies of surgical specimens were no evidence of malignancy. We believe that transurethral uretero-renoscopy significantly increases the diagnostic accuracy in determining the nature of upper urinary tract lesions, and this procedure is indispensable in the diagnosis of ureteral tumors. The present case was the 7th case of primary ureteral carcinoma in the duplicated renal pelvis and ureter in the Japanese literature.

A case of retrocaval ureter associated with carcinoma of the renal pelvis has been presented. This is the 2nd such case out of 110 cases reported in Japan. It is suggested that long term stagnation of urine is the cause for such a high incidence of malignant neoplasm involving the renal pelvis.

We reviewed 41 cases of transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis and ureter with special reference to the coexistence or subsequent development of bladder cancer. Bladder cancer was associated with an upper urinary tract neoplasm in 20 of the 41 cases (48 per cent). Most of these patients (15 of 20) were treated by radical total cystectomy of 1-stage nephroureterocystectomy. The incidence of ureteral stump cancer after nephrectomy alone or incomplete nephroureterectomy was 64 per cent (7 of 11 patients). Twelve surgically removed specimens of the renal pelvis, ureter and/or bladder were examined extensively for the histological association of pre-neoplastic disease, such as atypical hyperplasia and carcinoma in situ. Every specimen had these changes of the urothelium adjacent to and remote from obvious tumors.

A case is presented of bilateral transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis with extension of the tumor to involve the renal parenchyma bilaterally. Unilateral complete absence of function was demonstrated and pathological study correlated the absence of function with complete replacement and destruction of the renal parenchyma by transitional cell tumor. Segmental absence of function of the contralateral kidney is also correlated pathologically with complete replacement of the involved renal segment with tumor. Total replacement of renal parenchyma by transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis should be considered in the evaluation of renal non-function.