Incidentally Detected Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Renal Pelvis in Patients with Staghorn Calculi: Case Series with Review of the Literature

Squamous cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis is a rare neoplasm, often unsuspected clinically due to its rarity and ambiguous clinical and radiological features, and hence patients present at advanced stages resulting in poor prognosis. We report here four cases of incidentally diagnosed primary renal squamous cell carcinoma, treated at our hospital over a short span of one year, and review the relevant literature. Mean age of the patients (3 males, 1 female) was 60 years. All suffered from staghorn stones. Interestingly, renal carcinoma was unsuspected clinically in all patients. In one case, a computerised tomography scan showed a suspicious nodule. All underwent nephrectomy for nonfunctioning kidney. In just two cases, tumor was identified on gross examination, while the other two only showed thickened pelvis. Our series emphasises the need for pelvicalyceal biopsy during treatment for long-standing nephrolithiasis, and thorough sampling of the renal pelvis in nephrectomy specimen of such patients.