Choriocarcinoma of the renal pelvis: a case report

A 68-year-old male presented to our hospital complaining of gross hematuria. Intravenous pyelography subsequently demonstrated a left non-visualized kidney, and he was admitted for further evaluation. Cystoscopy revealed a bladder tumor around the left ureteral orifice and retrograde pyelography showed a filling defect in the left renal pelvis. The urinary cytology from the left renal pelvis indicated class IV, and the microscopic findings of a bladder biopsy demonstrated grade 1 transitional cell carcinoma. We performed transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TUR-BT) followed by left nephroureterectomy with bladder cuff. The pathological diagnosis was high grade transitional cell carcinoma with choriocarcinomatous component. After the operation, the serum human chorionic gonadotropin-beta (hCG-beta) level was slightly elevated, and the combination chemotherapy with methotrexate, vinblastine and cisplatin (MVC) was administered. Although the serum hCG-beta level fell to 0.1 ng/ml, after two courses of MVC chemotherapy, bilateral pulmonary metastases appeared in the chest X-ray with increasing hCG-beta levels. Salvage chemotherapy with cisplatin, etoposide and bleomycin (PEB) was performed. After two courses of PEB chemotherapy, the serum hCG-beta level fell to within the normal range and all pulmonary metastases disappeared.