CARCINOMA RENAL SARCOMATOIDE

OBJECTIVE To analyze the pathological and clinical features of a variant of renal carcinoma: sarcomatoid renal carcinoma. METHODS Of 316 patients diagnosed as having a renal tumor from 1975 to 1995, 11 (3.5%) with a pathological diagnosis of sarcomatoid renal carcinoma were analyzed. The clinical history, biological data and diagnostic imaging findings of these patients were reviewed. All patients had undergone surgical exploration. RESULTS All the tumors showed a double cellular population, with a fusiform component. Histological analysis showed a high grade and stage tumor. Ten patients died from the disease, the mean survival rate was 9 months (range 2-48) following diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the kidney is uncommon and can be occasionally difficult to distinguish from sarcoma. It has a worse prognosis than other variants of renal carcinoma.