Endoluminal sonographic evaluation of ureteral and renal pelvic neoplasms

The objective of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of endoluminal ultrasonography as an adjunct to endoscopy for the evaluation of urothelial neoplasms. An endoluminal ultrasound system using a 12.5 or 20 MHz transducer housed in a 6.2 French catheter was used intraureterally in 38 patients being evaluated endoscopically for suspected tumors in the renal pelvis or ureter. The ultrasonographic, endoscopic, and pathologic findings were evaluated. The location, size, and sonographic characteristics of the tumors in the upper urinary tract were well demonstrated. The information obtained by this technique can be used to guide endoscopic biopsy and laser ablation of the tumor. Endoluminal ultrasonography also has proved helpful in defining the location of a tumor relative to an adjacent vessel and in identifying crossing vessels that cause extrinsic filling defects in the ureter. In a few pathologically correlated cases, endoluminal ultrasonography was accurate in assessing invasion. We have evaluated successfully a variety of non-neoplastic filling defects in relatively few cases. Determination of the eventual usefulness of this technique awaits greater clinical experience and large clinical trials.