[Urinary tract involvement from pancreas carcinoma]

Pancreas carcinoma is sometimes notoriously difficult to diagnosis. It is well known that pancreas carcinoma can invade contiguous organs, but no attention for urinary tract involvement is paid. Urinary tract is involved at a late stage but may represent the first symptomatic evidence of disease. In such case, pancreas carcinoma can be presented initially as urologic disease and patients' symptom may not be differentiated from urinary tract disease. Computed tomographic (CT) images and medical records of 50 patients with histologically proved pancreas carcinoma were reviewed. There were 10 cases with urinary tract involvement. Those of 8 were male and 2 were female. There was a high incidence of left urinary tract involvement (left:right:bilateral = 7:2:1). Although 9 cases were pancreas body and tail carcinoma, 1 case was pancreas head carcinoma. And those stages were all in IV. All cases have confirmed evidence of urinary tract involvement at autopsy within 4 months following CT studies. IVP study was performed in 8 of these cases. We compared those IVP, CT images and findings of autopsy. In those patients, 4 cases showed direct invasion of the kidney, 5 cases showed ureteral involvement and 1 case showed metastasis to the urinary bladder and ureters. IVP showed inferior displacement of the kidney and/or ureteral displacement on the affected side. And also, collecting system distortion was demonstrated, including hydronephrosis secondary to ureteral compression. CT scan showed abnormal mass which is contiguous to the pancreas, showing compression the kidney and/or retroperitoneal extension with ureteral involvement. Metastasis to the urinary bladder is also identified. The findings of autopsy were almost the same of the CT findings. Pancreas carcinoma characteristically remains silent until little chance for cure. Although urinary tract involvement is rare, it can mimic renal and ureteral pathology. In differential diagnosis of urinary tract lesion, the disease process originated from pancreas should be included as well as from contiguous structures.