[Imaging diagnosis of renal tumors]

The imaging findings of 48 cases of renal neoplasms, including excretory urography, ultrasonography, CT and MRI were compared. This series comprised 32 renal cell carcinoma, 5 renal pelvic carcinoma, 4 metastatic renal tumor, 4 renal angiomyolipoma, 2 angioma and 1 lipoma. The comparison of these 4 methods was done with emphasis on their respective merits and disadvantages. Urography remains the major method of detecting the renal tumors. Ultrasound is economic, rapid and sensitive, often used for screening. CT is very useful in the diagnosis and staging of renal tumors, especially for diagnosing small sized renal carcinoma. Its diagnostic accuracy is higher than the others as it offers better spatial and density resolution. MRI may be used in case CT fails to make a diagnosis or the patient is allergic to the contrast media. The diagnostic accuracy may be improved by proper use of the above four methods.