Sarcomatoid collecting duct carcinoma arising in the hemodialysis-associated acquired cystic kidney: an autopsy report

Outcome of renal cell carcinoma in patients on dialysis compared to non-dialysis patients

PURPOSE

To investigate the impact of hemodialysis on survival in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients.

METHODS

We studied 388 patients who underwent radical or partial nephrectomy for RCC at Toranomon Hospital from 2005 to 2013. Survival curves were drawn according to the Kaplan-Meier method and compared with the log-rank test. Multivariate analysis was performed using the Cox proportional hazards regression model to assess the prognostic influence of hemodialysis on cancer-specific survival.

RESULT

Of the 388 patients, 66 were on hemodialysis and 322 were not on dialysis. In the hemodialysis patients, incidental diagnosis of RCC was less frequent than in the non-dialysis patients. In addition, RCC was more likely to be multicentric (41% vs 1.2%), bilateral (14% vs 0.6%), and papillary (18% vs 7%) in hemodialysis patients. Moreover, tumors were smaller, the stage was lower, and the Fuhrman nuclear grade was higher in the patients on hemodialysis. The 5-year cancer-specific survival rate was 82.8% for hemodialysis patients and 93.5% for nondialysis patients. Multivariate analysis indicated that hemodialysis, stage, and Fuhrman nuclear grade were independent prognostic factors for RCC.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggested that hemodialysis was an independent prognostic factor for cancer-specific survival in RCC patients, along with the tumor stage and Fuhrman nuclear grade.

Sarcomatoid collecting duct carcinoma of kidney diagnosed with urine and renal pelvic lavage cytology

A case of sarcomatoid collecting duct carcinoma (CDC) of kidney is presented, in which the diagnosis was made cytologically with voided urine and renal pelvis lavage. Cytology of hemorrhagic voided urine revealed highly atypical adenocarcinoma cells with reminiscent ductal structure, which suggested CDC as the most likely diagnosis. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a left renal tumor, and selective lavage of left renal pelvis yielded spindle-shaped, highly atypical cells that indicated sarcomatoid carcinoma. The diagnosis of renal cancer with urine cytology is challenging because of small number of tumor cells in the urine, which are often associated with degeneration. As the urinary cytologic findings of sarcomatoid CDC have not been reported, the characteristic cytologic findings of sarcomatoid CDC are described in detail, and the differential diagnoses with diagnostic pitfalls were discussed.

Renal cell carcinoma in patients with end-stage renal disease: relationship between histological type and duration of dialysis

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the clinical outcomes and histological types of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) arising in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and to analyse the relationship of histopathological features with the duration of dialysis.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Clinical characteristics and outcomes of 34 patients who had a radical nephrectomy for RCC arising in ESRD between November 1994 and June 2008 were investigated. Archive paraffin-embedded tissue specimens obtained from 27 patients were histochemically and immunohistochemically analysed to determine the histopathological type.

RESULTS

There was one death from cancer and one patient with local progression within a median observation period of 29.5 months. Acquired cystic disease (ACD)-associated RCC, clear cell-papillary RCC, mucinous tubular and spindle-cell carcinoma, and Xp11.2 translocation/TFE3 gene fusion were identified in eight, two, three and one patient, respectively. Conventional clear-cell RCC was the predominant histological type (nine of 15) in patients with a duration of dialysis of <10 years, while ACD-associated RCC was predominant (seven of 12) in those with dialysis for > or =10 years. Sarcomatoid foci were identified in three patients with dialysis for > or =10 years. Papillary adenoma was microscopically identified as a satellite tumour in 10 patients.

CONCLUSION

The spectrum of histological types of RCCs arising in ESRD is distinct from that of sporadic RCCs. Patients with a longer duration of dialysis should have particular attention for progression and metastasis. Immunohistochemical profiling is efficient in the histological classification of RCCs arising in ESRD, although knowledge about genetic changes remains to be accumulated.

Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging detection of renal cancer presenting with diffuse peritoneal metastases in a patient with hemodialysis-associated acquired cystic disease of the kidney

A 59-year-old man was admitted with a large amount of ascites, cake-like omental thickening, and dialysis-associated acquired cystic disease of the kidney (ACDK). It was difficult to detect renal cancer, which was revealed as a primary site of peritoneal metastases by autopsy, with conventional cross-sectional imaging, such as enhanced computed tomography and T2, T1, and dynamic gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging, because multiple renal cysts caused marked distortion of the renal parenchyma and the cancer had necrosis. We demonstrated the usefulness of diffusion-weighted imaging with a high b-factor to detect renal cancer presenting with peritoneal metastasis in a patient with ACDK.

Sarcomatoid collecting-duct carcinoma of the kidney

Collecting duct carcinoma is a distinct entity among renal cell carcinoma, which is characterized by an aggressive behavior. Sarcomatoid variants of this tumor are rarely described. We report the case of a 62-year-old woman who presented with a left kidney tumor. A radical nephrectomy was performed. The tumor was firm with a white appearance, located in the medulla with infiltrating margins. Pathological examination showed a biphasic tumor with carcinomatous areas consisting of a collecting-duct carcinoma and sarcomatous areas with malignant fibrous histiocytoma-like appearance. Immunohistochemical studies confirmed the diagnosis of sarcomatoid collecting-duct carcinoma. The patient died 8 months after the diagnosis.

Spectrum of epithelial neoplasms in end-stage renal disease: an experience from 66 tumor-bearing kidneys with emphasis on histologic patterns distinct from those in sporadic adult renal neoplasia

Most (up to 71%) of renal cell neoplasms occurring in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), particularly with acquired cystic disease of the kidney (ACDK), have been reported to be papillary renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Our initial experience with tumors in such a setting indicated that many tumors were histologically difficult to classify into the known subtypes of RCC or had features that were different from those in sporadically occurring RCCs. In this study on 66 ESRD kidneys (52 of which showed features of ACDK) removed because tumors were detected in them, we found two major groups of RCC. Overall, there were 261 grossly identified tumors in these kidneys, and many additional tumors were observed on microscopic evaluation in some. Of the two major groups of RCCs, one consisted of tumors similar to those seen in sporadic settings (ie, clear-cell, papillary, and chromophobe RCC), and these formed the dominant mass in 12 (18%), 10 (15%), and 5 (8%) of the 66 kidneys, respectively. The other group consisted of two subtypes of RCC that appear quite unique to ESRD. The more common tumor that we have designated as "acquired cystic disease-associated RCC" was seen as the dominant mass in 24 (36%) of 66 of the kidneys, and it formed the most common tumor type among the smaller nondominant masses, as well. It was characterized by a typical microcystic architecture, eosinophilic cytoplasm with Fuhrman's grade 3 nuclei, and frequent association with intratumoral oxalate crystals. Additionally, these tumors frequently, but usually focally, exhibited papillary architecture, and clear cytoplasm. These tumors occurred only in kidneys with ACDK, and not in noncystic ESRD. The other category was "clear-cell papillary RCC of the end-stage kidneys," present as the dominant mass in 15 (23%) of the 66 kidneys and occurring in both the ACDK and noncystic ESRD. These predominantly cystic tumors showed prominent papillary architecture with purely clear-cell cytology. Immunohistochemical studies in tumors with histology similar to the known subtypes of sporadic RCC showed immunoprofiles similar to that reported in sporadically occurring tumors. The two subtypes of RCC unique to ESRD had distinctive immunoprofiles supporting their separate morphologic subcategorization. Only the acquired cystic disease-associated RCC showed lymph node metastases in 2 cases and sarcomatoid features in 2 more cases. One of the latter 2 died with widespread metastatic disease within 34 months of nephrectomy. Thus, a broad spectrum of renal cell tumors exist in ESRD, only some of which resemble the sporadic RCCs. Acquired cystic disease-associated RCC is the commonest tumor subtype in ESRD, and biologically it appears to be more aggressive than the other tumor subtypes in ESRD.