[Calcifications in renal adenocarcinoma. Image assessment in 17 cases]

Of 60 renal adenocarcinoma tumors that had been diagnosed at our hospital between 1984 and 1990, 17 had presented intratumoral calcification. These 17 tumors with calcification were studied to assess the sensitivity of different techniques relative to detection, localization and morphologic characterization of the calcifications. We can conclude from the study that the use of CT and US not only raised detection rate (28%), but also permitted more precise evaluation of the calcified tumor mass. Furthermore, tumor spread beyond the calcified area was found to be a sign of malignancy.