Comparison of CT Urography and Excretory Urography in the Detection and Localization of Urothelial Carcinoma of the Upper Urinary Tract

• Published in: American journal of roentgenology (1976) Vol. 196; no. 5; pp. 1102 - 1109
• Main Authors: JINZAKI, Masahiro, MATSUMOTO, Kazuhiro, KIKUCHI, Eiji, SATO, Kozo, HORIGUCHI, Yutaka, NISHIWAKI, Yuji, SILVERMAN, Stuart G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Reston, VA American Roentgen Ray Society 01.05.2011
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biological and medical sciences; Carcinoma - diagnostic imaging; Cohort Studies; Female; Humans; Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects); Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Nephrology. Urinary tract diseases; Predictive Value of Tests; Radiodiagnosis. Nmr imagery. Nmr spectrometry; Retrospective Studies; ROC Curve; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Tumors of the urinary system; Urinary system; Urinary system involvement in other diseases. Miscellaneous; Urinary tract. Prostate gland; Urography; Urologic Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Urothelium; Ureter cancer; urinary tract cancer; Urinary system disease; Radiodiagnosis; Hematuria; helical CT; Ureteral disease; Helical computed tomography; Urinary tract disease; Transitional cell carcinoma; Malignant tumor; Urinary tract; Hemorrhage; Urinary system; Urography; Medical imagery; Diagnosis; Comparative study; Cancer
• ISSN: 0361-803X; 1546-3141
• DOI: 10.2214/ajr.10.5249

The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy of CT urography and excretory urography for the detection and localization of upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma. Of 128 patients at high risk for upper tract urothelial carcinoma who were examined with both CT urography and excretory urography between 2002 and 2007, 24 were undiagnosed and excluded. CT urography and excretory urography results of the remaining 104 patients and 552 urinary tract segments were compared with histopathologic examination or follow-up imaging at 1 year. Two readers independently scored the confidence levels for the presence or absence of upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma in each of six upper urinary tract segments on both CT urography and excretory urography; differences were resolved by consensus. Upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma was diagnosed in 77 (14%) segments of 46 (44%) patients. Per-patient sensitivity, specificity, overall accuracy, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curves for detecting carcinomas with CT urography (93.5% [43/46], 94.8% [55/58], 94.2% [98/104], and 0.963, respectively) were significantly greater than those for excretory urography (80.4% [37/46], 81.0% [47/58], 80.8% [84/104], and 0.831, respectively) (p = 0.041, p = 0.027, p = 0.001, and p < 0.001, respectively). Per-segment sensitivity and overall accuracy for the localization of upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma were significantly greater with CT urography (87.0% [67/77] and 97.8% [540/552]) than with excretory urography (41.6% [32/77] and 91.5% [505/552]) (p < 0.0001). CT urography was more accurate than excretory urography in the detection and localization of upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma and should be considered as the initial examination for the evaluation of patients at high risk for upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma.