Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 6, 2026
In Vivo, Percutaneous, Needle Based, Optical Coherence Tomography of Renal Masses
Published on: March 30, 2015
Tumor heterogeneity on contrast-enhanced computed tomography outperforms attenuation ratio in differentiating renal
Anastasia Dewi Elita Araminta1, Muhammad Hidayat Surya Atmaja2, Widiana Ferriastuti2
1Department of Radiology, Radiology Specialist Education Program, Faculty of Medicine, Airlangga University, Dr. Soetomo General Academic Hospital, Surabaya, Indonesia.
Introduction:
malignant renal masses are frequently identified on computed tomography (CT) in clinical practice; however, noninvasive differentiation between renal mass subtypes, including renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and non-RCC lesions, remains challenging.
Methods:
this cross-sectional study included patients undergoing nephrectomy who had preoperative CT imaging and histopathologic evaluation. The attenuation ratio was defined as the ratio of Hounsfield Unit (HU) values between the tumor and the renal cortex. Tumor heterogeneity was independently assessed on a 5-point Likert scale during the corticomedullary phase.
Results:
there was no significant difference in attenuation ratio between the RCC and non-RCC groups (p>0.05), whereas the heterogeneity score of renal masses on CT scans was significantly higher in RCC than in non-RCC masses (P<0.05), reflecting the tumor's structural complexity and aggressiveness.
Conclusion:
our findings indicate that mass heterogeneity may outperform the attenuation ratio as a diagnostic and prognostic indicator in distinguishing malignant renal mass subtypes. Assessment of heterogeneity on preoperative CT thus holds promise as a valuable radiologic biomarker and may contribute to optimized treatment planning. Larger-scale studies are needed to further substantiate these results.
