[Ureteral cancer producing carbohydrate antigen 19-9: report of a case]

A case of a CA19-9-producing ureteral cancer is reported. A 58-year-old man presented with gross hematuria. Retrograde pyelography showed an irregular filling defect in the right ureter. The serum CA19-9 level was 932 U/ml (normal < 37). Right total nephroureterectomy was performed. The histological diagnosis was grade 3 transitional cell carcinoma. Immunohistochemical analysis showed CA19-9 to be expressed not only in the cancer cells but also in the normal transitional cell epithelium of the renal pelvis.