[CT in preoperative assessment of renal tumors?]

The value of CT-scanning as part of the preoperative morphological investigation of patients with renal tumours was calculated in a material of 28 patients. In eight patients, operative treatment was not found to be indicated. In the 20 patients in whom operation was undertaken, the operative and histological findings were compared with the findings on CT-scanning. In cases of disagreement, the CT-scanning findings were reassessed. It was found that interpretation of the CT-scan was accurate in 40% of the cases while minor disagreements were present in 25% but these did not have any significance for the indications for operation. In the remaining 35% considerable disagreement was found between the CT-scan and the operative or histological findings such as invasion of neighbouring organs, cysts interpreted as solid tumours with necrosis and as regards interpretation of the retroperitoneal glands. The present authors consider that CT-scanning provides an important supplement to the conventional morphological investigation of renal tumours with intravenous urography and radiography of the thorax. CT-scanning appears to be preferable to ultrasonic scanning in cases which are difficult to review and where expert interpretation of ultrasonic findings is not available. In addition, routine preoperative biopsy of the tumour guided by ultrasound is recommended together with peroperative biopsy for freeze microscopic examination prior to nephrectomy.