Metastatic involvement of the urinary tract in patients with advanced ovarian carcinoma: lessons from the autopsy for an interdisciplinary treatment approach.
OBJECTIVE
Frequency and extent of metastases in urologic organs found at autopsy of ovarian carcinoma patients were evaluated.


METHODS
Autopsy reports from 170 patients who died of advanced ovarian carcinoma between 1975 and 2005 were studied. The distribution of abdominal metastatic sites with particular attention to the involvement of the urologic organs, and hydronephrosis was analyzed.


RESULTS
The distribution of metastatic sites was as follows: kidney (n = 6, 3.5%), urinary bladder (n = 38, 22.4%), and ureter (n = 20, 11.8%). In 36 patients, hydronephrosis was observed (21.2%); of these patients, 20 (55.6%) also had ureteral involvement. All patients with ureteral involvement had hydronephrosis.


CONCLUSIONS
Hydronephrosis in late stages of ovarian carcinoma, usually attributed to extrinsic compression of the ureter by an abdominal tumor, may also be explained by ureteral metastases. This fact must be considered in the clinical management of these patients, particularly in the restoration of luminal patency through an endoscopically placed internal ureteral stent.
Wyler
S
S
Department of Urology, University Hospital Basel (UHB), Switzerland.
Huang
D J
DJ
Singer
G
G
Schötzau
A
A
Holzgreve
W
W
Güth
U
U
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000556:secondary*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D008875:Middle Aged; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D014516:Ureteral Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D014571:Urologic Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary*