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Updated: Apr 27, 2026

In Vivo, Percutaneous, Needle Based, Optical Coherence Tomography of Renal Masses
Published on: March 30, 2015
Granulomatosis with polyangiitis presenting as a renal tumor
Ashley Ward1, Christine Konya, Eugene J Mark
1Departments of *Pathology †Rheumatology, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center ‡Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.
Abstract:
Inflammatory tumors of the kidney are uncommon and include primary inflammatory processes and systemic diseases such as sarcoidosis, IgG4 disease, and granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA). There are approximately 15 cases of the latter in the literature. Tumors in GPA are well described and have been reported in several organs including breast, orbit, mediastinum, central nervous system, and especially the lung. We report the case of a 48-year-old woman who presented with diffuse frontal headaches. Imaging showed both a cranial/sinus and renal mass. The pathology of the dura and nasal sinus biopsies were unrevealing. A nephrectomy was performed that demonstrated a discrete lesion with extensive necrosis, granulomatous inflammation, and crescentic pauci-immune glomerulonephritis, findings consistent with GPA.
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