Renal angiomyolipoma: report of 2 cases of tuberous sclerosis in female siblings

Two cases of renal angiomyolipomas in female siblings associated with tuberous sclerosis were reported. The first case was a 47-year-old housewife who visited the hospital because of severe right flank pain. Bilateral renal angiomyolipomas and hemorrhage in the right angiomyolipoma were recognized by computerized tomography, ultrasonography and renal angiography. After 2 months she had another episode of left flank pain and was diagnosed to have hemorrhage in the left renal tumor. The pain remissed by conservative treatment. Bilateral nephrectomy and hemodialysis would be necessary if she were to have a third attack. The second case was her 36-year-old sister with the chief complaint of left flank pain and genital bleeding. CT and renal angiography suggested a large angiomyolipoma in her left kidney and a small one in her right kidney. Left nephrectomy, right partial nephrectomy and hysterectomy were performed to prevent intratumoral hemorrhage. The histopathological diagnosis was angiomyolipoma of kidneys, uterus and lymphnodes of right renal hilus. Although pre-operative differentiation of angiomyolipoma from renal cell carcinoma has been difficult, recently diagnosis has become possible by CT, ultra-sonography and angiography.     

Angiomyolipoma of the kidney: report of three cases and a statistical study of 194 cases in Japan

Three cases of renal angiomyolipoma are reported. The first case was a 53-year-old female with the complaint of left flank pain. In both cases selective angiography revealed a renal tumor, and computerized tomography disclosed a renal mass with low density corresponding to the fat tissue. From several examinations these two cases were preoperatively diagnosed as renal angiomyolipoma and nephrectomy was performed. Histopathological diagnosis was renal angiomyolipoma. The third case was a 64-year-old female with the complaints of left flank pain and macrohematuria. In this case computerized tomography revealed a renal mass which did not have a low density area. The possibility of renal cell carcinoma was considered and nephrectomy was performed. Histological diagnosis was renal angiomyolipoma which was primarily composed of smooth muscle cells. The first case had a calcified lesion in the brain. But there was no evidence of tuberous sclerosis in the following two cases. Some problems in diagnosis and treatment of renal angiomyolipoma are presented, and a statistical study is made on 194 reported cases of renal angiomyolipoma in Japan.     

Angiomyolipoma: a case report and a statistical study of 147 cases in Japanese literature

A 32-year-old housewife with gross hematuria and right flank pain had excretory urography and angiography performed. A large right renal mass with neovascularity was demonstrated. Computerized tomography also revealed a large well-demarcated renal mass with low value of HU. Right nephrectomy was done and histopathological diagnosis was angiomyolipoma weighing 1100 g. A statistical study was made on 147 cases of renal angiomyolipoma in the Japanese literature including this case. The male to female ratio was 1 to 2.9, and the average age of male and female patients was 37.8 and 39.0 years, respectively. Thirty-eight per cent of the cases were associated with tuberous sclerosis. The main clinical signs were flank pain, flank mass and hematuria. In 80% of the cases, nephrectomy was done because of the difficulty of preoperative differential diagnosis from renal cell carcinoma. Recently, CT and sonography have become a great help in diagnosing angiomyolipoma, because they can demonstrate the fat in the renal mass. Conservative or surgical treatment to save the kidney can be used more often when it becomes possible to make a clear differential diagnosis between angiomyolipoma and other malignant diseases.     

Renal angiomyolipoma with a tumor thrombus extending into the right atrium--a case report]

We present a case of spontaneous rupture of renal angiomyolipoma with a tumor thrombus extending from the right renal vein and inferior vena cava to the right atrium. A 41-year-old woman, previously in good health, was referred to our hospital with right flank pain. Computed tomography showed fat densities in both tumor and thrombus. Other imaging examinations also demonstrated a large right renal mass (18 cm in diameter), a long tumor thrombus (13 cm in length) and a small left renal tumor (1.5 cm in diameter). Right nephrectomy and en-bloc removal of the intra caval and intracardiac tumor thrombus were performed on cardiopulmonary bypass. It was pathologically diagnosed as an angiomyolipoma without tuberous sclerosis. At present, three years after surgery the patient is doing well, showing neither metastasis nor increase of the left renal angiomyolipoma. To our knowledge, our case seems to be the 3rd case report of renal angiomyolipoma with a tumor thrombus extending to the right atrium. We conclude that renal angiomyolipoma even with an intra cardiac tumor thrombus can be resected safely and successfully.     

A case of angiomyolipoma originating from polycystic kidney with horseshoe kidney

A case of renal angiomyolipoma originating from polycystic kidney with horseshoe kidney is reported. A 32-year-old woman visited our hospital with the complaint of proteinuria. with computerized tomographic scan and further examinations the patient was diagnosed as having renal angiomyolipoma with tuberous sclerosis. The tumor originated from a polycystic horseshoe kidney. Three weeks later, she complained of right flank pain and was diagnosed with spontaneous rupture of the angiomyolipoma. Right heminephrectomy was performed and histological examination confirmed the preoperative diagnosis. Some discussion is made on the characteristics and treatment of renal angiomyolipoma, and the statistics on renal diseases with tuberous sclerosis in Japan are presented.     

转移性恶性肾血管平滑肌脂肪瘤三例报告

目的 探讨转移性恶性肾血管平滑肌脂肪瘤(AML)的诊断和治疗. 方法转移性恶性AML患者3例.男1例,女2例.年龄分别为36、55和37岁.主诉为持续性患侧腰痛1～6个月.2例B超、CT检查发现患肾实性占位.1例B超见肾肿块内不均匀高回声光团,CT测得脂肪负值信号.2例行根治性肾切除术,1例行肾切除术.3例均未放化疗. 结果 肿块切面灰红、灰黄,质软.病理镜下观察:2例瘤细胞呈上皮样,核有异型,伴坏死;1例大多区域为梭形平滑肌,脂肪细胞和血管混杂生长,部分区域细胞呈上皮样.免疫组化结果 均为VM(+),HMIM5(+),Melan-A(+),S-100(-),CK(-).3例病理诊断均为恶性肾AML,2例为上皮样型,1例为经典型、部分上皮样型.1例术后7年出现肺转移,行肺叶切除加清扫,随访12年无瘤生存.1例术后6年复发,行肿块切除术;术后lO年发现肝、后腹膜转移,再行肿块部分切除,随访12年带瘤生存.1例术后4个月出现肝、后腹膜转移,行肿块部分切除,3个月后失访. 结论 恶性肾AML罕见,诊断依靠病理和免疫组化检查.治疗方法无特殊.     

Extrarenal angiomyolipoma with spontaneous rupture: a case report

We present a very rare case of retroperitoneal extrarenal angiomyolipoma (AML) with spontaneous rupture. A 67-year-old woman without tuberous sclerosis was admitted to our hospital complaining of sudden right flank pain. We suspected right renal AML with rupture by imaging analysis, but the diagnosis was extrarenal AML by surgery and pathological examination.     

Spontaneous rupture of renal angiomyolipoma with tuberous sclerosis during long-term follow-up: a case report]

We present a case of spontaneous rupture of bilateral renal angiomyolipoma (AML) with tuberous sclerosis. A 46-year-old woman was admitted with sudden onset of severe left flank pain. She had been diagnosed to have bilateral AML with tuberous sclerosis 15 years earlier. Four years after the initial diagnosis, spontaneous rupture of right renal AML occurred and right renal embolization of the right renal artery was performed. The treatment for the left renal AML was not performed. Eleven years later in 2000, spontaneous rupture of contralateral renal AML occurred and left renal embolization of the left renal artery was performed. We evaluated the efficacy of selective arterial embolization in right AML and the change of the tumor size during a 10-year follow up after embolization. The right AML had decreased 86% in 11 years. Selective arterial embolization is an effective and safe treatment for AML. We evaluated the natural history of left AML and calculated the doubling time to be about 1,370 days for the first period of 4 years and about 2,075 days for the second period of 11 years. Although the growth change was very slow, we should observe the tumors carefully on computed tomography or ultrasound to prevent life-threatening hemorrhage.     

A case of postpartum spontaneous rupture of an angiomyolipoma

A case of postpartum spontaneous rupture of angiomyolipoma in a 27-year-old woman with the chief complaints of right flank pain and fever was reported. Physical examinations revealed an infant-head sized, hard elastic mass with a smooth surface in the right flank. Laboratory studies showed a decrease of Hb to 9.0 g/dl and Ht to 26.5%, and elevated LDH (2914 IU/l). Angiomyolipoma was suspected with ultrasonography, CT scan and angiography. Transperitoneal right nephrectomy was performed. The right kidney and tumor weighed 1,870 g. Pathological diagnosis also confirmed angiomyolipoma of the kidney. Discussion of the case and a brief review of the literature on spontaneous rupture of angiomyolipoma in the intra- and postpartum are made.     

Spontaneous rupture of a renal angiomyolipoma in pregnancy: a case report]

A 32-year-old woman in the 36th week of pregnancy was admitted to obstetrics with a complaint of left flank pain. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a left perinephric hematoma before the cesarean section. Spontaneous rupture of renal angiomyolipoma was suspected by computed tomographic scan and renal angiography after the cesarean section. We attempted partial nephrectomy, but performed nephrectomy because of perinephric adhesion. This is the 11th case of spontaneous rupture of renal angiomyolipoma during pregnancy in the Japanese literature.     

Angiomyolipoma of the kidney: a case report and a statistical study of 429 cases in Japan

A 40-year-old housewife was found to have a renal mass on her left side through an ultrasonogram at the hospital during a medical check up. The patient had a dull pain in her left flank intermittently for three years. She had no personal or family history of stigmas of tuberous sclerosis. The mass showed a high echogenicity on the ultrasonogram and a low density (-84HU) on the CT scan. Preoperative diagnosis was reported as renal angiomyolipoma and an enucleation of the tumor was performed with CUSA. A statistical study was done on data taken from 429 cases of renal angiomyolipoma in the Japanese literature, including our case. The male to female ratio was 1 to 2.9. Thirty three percent of the cases were associated with tuberous sclerosis. The ratio of bilateral cases to unilateral ones was 1:4. The main clinical signs were abdominal pain, abdominal mass and gross hematuria. Nephrectomy was done in 71.0% of the cases, partial nephrectomy and enucleation in 13.7% and embolization in 2.2%. Through the composition of the CT scan and the ultrasonogram, preoperative diagnosis has become possible in many cases, so recently the ratio of nephrectomy has been decreasing. We think partial nephrectomy and enucleation compose the most effective therapy for renal angiomyolipoma.     

Lymph nodal involvement by renal angiomyolipoma

Angiomyolipoma of the kidney is a clonal neoplasm, apparently part of a family of neoplasms derived from perivascular epithelial cells. A 40-year-old woman presented with right flank pain and an otherwise non-significant medical history. An abdominal computed tomography scan revealed an 18 cm solid mass in the mid-portion of the right kidney and multiple perihilar lymph nodes. Presumptive diagnosis was renal cell carcinoma. Right radical nephrectomy and a perihilar lymph node dissection was performed through a Chevron incision for the anticipated diagnosis of renal adenocarcinoma. The renal tumor was diagnosed as angiomyolipoma and a component was identified pathologically in a dissected lymph node. There was no evidence of tumor recurrence in the follow-up period of eight years. The consensus from other studies suggests that this phenomenon is a manifestation of the multicentric nature of angiomyolipoma, rather than due to metastasis. Genetic studies may resolve this question in the future.     

Ruptured renal angiomyolipoma treated by transcatheter arterial embolization: report of two cases

We report two cases of spontaneous rupture of renal angiomyolipoma (AML). In the first case, a 22-year-old woman was admitted with lower abdominal pain. She was diagnosed with rupture of left renal AML. Transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) was performed for three times to preserve renal function, and the size of AML decreased to 6.5 cm from 10 cm. In the second case (74-year-old woman), the chief complaint was lower abdominal pain. The clinical diagnosis of this patient was rupture of right renal AML. The size of this AML markedly reduced due to TAE. TAE is an effective therapy for rupture of renal AML.     

A case report of spontaneous rupture of renal cell carcinoma difficult to be distinguished from angiomyolipoma

A 56-year-old woman was admitted with right flank pain as the chief complaint without any trauma. Abdominal and chest computed tomography (CT scan) demonstrated with low-density area in a retroperitoneal hematoma suspected of spontaneous rupture of angiomyolipoma and hematothorax. Superselective transarterial embolization and drainage of the thoracic cavity were performed. Three months later a right renal tumor in perirenal hematoma was revealed by abdominal CT scan and suspected renal cell carcinoma. Right nephrectomy was performed. Histopathology revealed renal cell carcinoma. Including this case, 31 cases of spontaneous rupture of renal cell carcinoma have been reported in the Japanese literature.     

Two cases of leiomyoma of the kidney]

Renal leiomyomas large enough to be clinically diagnosed are extremely rare. We review 30 cases of clinically diagnosed renal leiomyoma from the literature in Japan, including our 2 new cases. Case 1: In a 52-year-old man with no symptoms a renal mass was found accidentally on an ultrasonogram. CT scan showed a mass with a cystic area at the upper pole of the right kidney. Angiogram showed a hypovascular mass. Case 2: CT scan revealed a cystic mass and angiogram showed an avascular mass at the upper pole of the left kidney in a 19-year-old man having gross hematuria and left flank pain. Transperitoneal nephrectomy was done in both cases. Histologically each tumor was composed of monotonous proliferation of spindle shaped cells without atypia, which showed intense immunoreactivity for alpha-smooth muscle actin. The diagnosis of benign leiomyoma was made in each case. In a review of 30 cases, we found that renal leiomyomas occur most often in female (77%), between decades 2 and 5 of life (median: 46 years). On the angiogram it appears most often as an avascular or hypovascular mass. CT scan shows cystic or mixed solid/cystic or solid lesion, occasionally with calcification. Preoperative diagnosis is extremely difficult to be made. Histologically, fibroma, angiomyolipoma, congenital mesoblastic nephroma and leiomyosarcoma should be differentiated.     

A case of renal angiomyolipoma with marked cystic degeneration and pseudoaneurysm

A 59-year-old woman consulted our hospital for a left renal mass which she had been aware of for 4 years. The tumor was in the lower portion of the left kidney. It was a cystic tumor whose wall was enhanced on computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. The lesion 3.0 cm in diameter, which was enhanced equally to the aorta, was found in a part of the wall. It was thought to be a pseudoaneurysm by renal angiography. We suspected a cystic renal cell carcinoma because of the plural feeding arteries and tumor staining, and performed left total nephrectomy. Pathological diagnosis was angiomyolipoma with few fat components. To our knowledge only 3 previous cases of renal angiomyolipoma with marked cystic degeneration have been reported in Japan. In all 3 cases, it was difficult in preoperative diagnosis to distinguish angiomyolipoma with cystic degeneration from cystic renal cell carcinoma complicated cyst. Moreover, this is the first reported case of renal angiomyolipoma with marked cystic degeneration and pseudoaneurysm.     

A case of bilateral renal angiomyolipoma diagnosed by fine needle biopsies

We describe a 37-year-old female with bilateral renal angiomyolipoma. She visited the Emergency Department at our hospital because of right severe flank pain. Computed tomography (CT) disclosed a bilateral renal tumors with fat components and high density lesions compatible with a hematoma. Conservative treatment was started, resulting in the improvement in laboratory findings and symptoms. Needle biopsies were performed under the guidance of ultrasonography. The histology was renal angiomyolipoma. She has been receiving a follow-up study at our out-patient clinic with an uneventful course.     

The limit in differential diagnosis of renal angiomyolipoma from renal cell carcinoma on computerized tomography: a case report

Recent reports have described that the accurate preoperative diagnosis of renal angiomyolipoma is possible with computerized tomography (CT). There are, however, some cases of angiomyolipoma which are indistinguishable from renal cell carcinoma on CT. Herein we report a case of renal angiomyolipoma which CT failed to reveal preoperatively. In a 71-year-old Japanese male, a left renal tumor was incidentally suspected on excretory urogram. Then CT demonstrated a homogeneous mass in the upper part of the left kidney, 6 cm in diameter, which showed a positive attenuation coefficient, slightly denser than renal parenchyma. Selective left renal arteriogram showed hypervascularity without aneurysmal formation or arteriovenous fistula. These radiologic findings strongly suggested renal cell carcinoma and radical left nephrectomy was performed. Histological examination confirmed angiomyolipoma composed mainly of smooth muscle with thick-walled vessels and immature fat cells. We reviewed the literature and discussed the computerized tomographic-pathologic correlation of angiomyolipoma.     

Diagnosis and treatment of renal angiomyolipoma

We have hitherto reported 6 cases of renal angiomyolipoma. Recently, we encountered two more such cases. Case 1 is a 34-year-old woman with fever as the chief complaint. DIP revealed a tumor mass in the right upper pelvic pole. This mass showed a strong echo level on ECHO and adipose tissue of low density on CT scan. Therefore, the patient was diagnosed as having renal angiomyolipoma. Since liposarcoma was not ruled out by the examination of frozen sections during operation, nephrectomy was performed. Case 2 is a 40-year-old woman. Diagnosed as having bilateral renal angiomyolipoma, she underwent right nephrectomy 14 years ago. Two years ago, she had heavy hematuria, and had embolization of the left renal artery. She has had no bleeding since the embolization. We are of the view that ECHO and CT can are very useful for diagnosis of renal angiomyolipoma, and embolization for heavy hematuria, a complication, should be performed first of all.     

Therapeutic embolization of renal angiomyolipoma: a case report

A case of bilateral renal angiomyolipoma without tuberous sclerosis is reported. A 49-year-old woman was admitted to the general practitioner with a sudden onset of severe left flank pain. An excretory urogram and ultrasonogram revealed an enlargement of the left kidney. She was subsequently referred to our clinic for further investigation and treatment. Computed tomographic scan and magnetic resonance imaging using Tl-weighted image showed several tumors with a fatty, dense area in the bilateral kidney. An arteriogram demonstrated a hypervascular renal mass with aneurysms in her left kidney. Diagnosis of bilateral renal angiomyolipoma was confirmed by percutaneous needle biopsy. Superselective embolization of the tumor was successfully performed, preserving normal renal tissue. Gelatin sponges containing Carboquone (CQ sponge) were used as embolic material. Angiomyolipoma has become relatively easy to diagnose by CT, ultrasound, MRI and so on. However, there are some cases of angiomyolipoma which are indistinguishable from renal cell carcinoma using these modes of testing. Therefore, in selecting a conservative management, we indicated that percutaneous biopsy or open biopsy should be done to confirm the results of the above procedures. Moreover, therapeutic embolization for angiomyolipoma was concluded to be very useful.