[Cancer of the kidney: venous staging using magnetic resonance imaging]

Venous tumor invasion in 42 renal cell carcinomas was evaluated by MRI. A correct diagnosis of renal vein and inferior vena cava (IVC) involvement was made in 14 of 17 tumors: 1 false negative diagnosis of right renal vein invasion was due to a double renal vein in which the inferior vein (identified by MRI) was not involved; 2 cases of IVC involvement were understaged (1 case of suprahepatic extension) or not identified (the false negative of renal vein invasion previously described). One false positive (among 31 tumors without venous invasion) was reported in a case of a large tumor in which the compressed but free right renal vein was overevaluated by MRI.