[Review of 43 autopsy cases of urogenital malignant tumors].
Autopsy findings were reviewed in 43 patients clinically diagnosed in the last 12 years as having urogenital malignant tumors. Clinical diagnoses were 14 bladder carcinoma, 11 prostatic carcinoma, 6 renal cell carcinoma, 5 renal pelvic carcinoma, and 7 other malignant tumors. Autopsy showed that 31 cases died due to carcinoma and 12 because of other causes. The most common ultimate causes of death were DIC and infection, especially pneumonia and sepsis. Autopsy showed 36 of the 43 cases (83.7%) with metastasis. Clinical diagnosis showed 34 cases of metastasis, but the number of metastasized organs and lymph-nodes was much lower than in subsequent autopsy findings. Autopsy proved 5 cases of clinical misdiagnosis (11.6%) and 4 of undiagnosed malignant tumors (9.3%). In 15 cases (32.6%) the ultimate cause of death as revealed by autopsy had not been clinically diagnosed. Five cases diagnosed as having died due to cancer in fact were found to have died due to other causes. Recent diagnostic techniques are greatly advanced, yet many findings are still revealed for the first time by autopsy. Autopsy continues to be a very important final arbiter of progress and the effect of malignant tumors, and serves to remind us of the ongoing need for constant vigilance and improvement of clinical diagnostic techniques.
Yuasa
M
M
Dept. of Urology, Takamatsu Red Cross Hospital.
Kojima
K
K
Furukawa
A
A
Tamura
M
M
Kawanishi
Y
Y
Numata
A
A
Imagawa
A
A
D001344:Autopsy; D002423:Cause of Death; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D006801:Humans; D014565:Urogenital Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*