title: Radiofrequency-treated recurrence of urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary tract after nephroureterectomy.
abstract: Local recurrence after radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) owing to urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary tract is rare. The usual treatment is systemic chemotherapy followed by optional resection of the mass. We introduce the case of a 73-year-old male patient with multiple comorbidities in whom retroperitoneal carcinoma recurrence of 31 mm was diagnosed via positron emission tomography-computed tomography scan with 18-fluorodeoxyglucose about 5 years after he had undergone RNU owing to urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary tract. The patient was treated with computed tomography-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation. Later scans with contrast controls showed lack of contrast uptake and a decrease of the lesion's size. Twenty-four months after the procedure, the patient is free of the disease. To date, this is the first case of recurrence of urothelial carcinoma that was treated with percutaneous radiofrequency ablation, thus establishing an alternative to chemotherapy in patients with substantial comorbidities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Fuenlabrada Universitary Hospital, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Molina
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Fuenlabrada Universitary Hospital, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Fuenlabrada Universitary Hospital, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Capilla
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Fuenlabrada Universitary Hospital, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Alvaro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Páez
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002295:Carcinoma, Transitional Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D009392:Nephrectomy / Q000379:methods; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014571:Urologic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*
keywords: Local neoplasm recurrence; Radiofrequency catheter ablation; Transitional cell carcinoma