Rare Co-existence of Squamous Cell Carcinoma with Infiltration of Renal Vein and Xanthogranulomatous Pyelonephritis

Primary Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Renal Pelvis: A Rare Complication of Xanthogranulomatous Pyelonephritis

Xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis is a rare disease resulting from chronic inflammation and infection of the renal parenchyma. It usually arises as a consequence of obstructive chronic pyelonephritis. Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis is a distinct pathology, very rare in clinical practice, with a well-established association with xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis. The authors present the case of a 57-year-old woman with chronic pyelonephritis containing xanthogranulomatous features. Subsequent workup revealed a concomitant, unsuspected, primary squamous cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis. With this case, the authors intend to emphasize and reinforce the need to be alert to an uncommon association between two rare diseases due to its diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic implications.

Rare squamous cell carcinoma of the kidney with concurrent xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis: A case report and review of the literature

Case presentation

In the current study, we report a 69-year-old female patient who was initially diagnosed with xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis (XGPN) with nephrolithiasis and a peri-renal abscess. She presented to our department with right flank pain. Physical examination revealed right costovertebral angle knocking pain and computed tomography revealed dilated calyces and one staghorn stone over right kidney, with multiple abscess accumulations over the right peri-renal region. Right radical nephrectomy was performed using a transperitoneal flank approach, and pathology revealed squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) with concurrent XGPN. The patient was alive at 4 months post-operative follow-up. To the best of our knowledge, this is only the fifth case of renal SCC with concurrent XGPN reported in the English medical literature.

Conclusion

Renal SCC with coexisting XGPN is an extremely rare presentation and only four cases have been previously reported in the English medical literature. A positive diagnosis for this rare combination of diseases was established, based on pathological and immunohistochemical examinations after radical nephrectomy. Poor prognosis has been reported in such cases. Malignancies should be considered in patients with a long-standing history of urolithiasis.

Renal pyelocalyceal squamous cell carcinoma in a patient with an ectopic kidney presenting with chronic pyelonephritis: a case report

Background

Until now, few cases of pelvis squamous cell carcinoma in various renal anomalies have been reported. To our knowledge, primary squamous cell carcinoma arising from a pelvic ectopic kidney has never been described. In this report, we describe a case of renal pyelocalyceal squamous cell carcinoma in a patient with an ectopic kidney presenting with chronic pyelonephritis.

Case summary

A 73-year-old Caucasian woman presented to our hospital with pyelonephritis symptoms. Abdominopelvic computed tomography revealed heterogeneous and irregular minimal contrast enhancement in the pelvic ectopic kidney parenchyma. Radiologists reported that the images were consistent with chronic pyelonephritis. A Tc-99m dimercaptosuccinic acid renal scan demonstrated a nonfunctioning right pelvic ectopic kidney. The patient underwent open simple nephrectomy via modified Gibson incision. The whole mass was a distended, saclike structure without any grossly visible renal tissue. Pathological examination showed renal pelvis squamous cell carcinoma 8 cm in diameter infiltrating into the renal capsule and perinephritic fatty tissue. The patient was staged as T4N0M1 renal pelvis squamous cell carcinoma. The patient was being treated in the intensive care unit for respiratory distress on the seventh day after the operation. By the first-month follow-up visit, the patient had died of acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Conclusions

Although rare, renal pelvis squamous cell carcinoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a renal mass in patients who have renal anomalies and chronic pyelonephritis.