[A case of spontaneous rupture of renal cell carcinoma]

There have been a few reports on the spontaneous rupture of renal cell carcinoma. A 67-year-old female patient complaining of vomiting and severe abdominal pain was referred to our hospital. Plain computerized tomography demonstrated large heterogenous mass in the right retroperitoneum. We suspected the hemorrhagic shock because of the rupture of the right kidney and therefore emergent laparotomy was performed. Simple nephrectomy for the right kidney was performed. A pathological report revealed renal cell carcinoma, granular cell subtype, grade 1, pT3a. The patient has been followed for one year and five months after the operation, there has been no evidence of local recurrence or distant metastasis of cancer. Thirteen cases of spontaneous rupture of renal cell carcinoma in the Japanese literature are reviewed.