Chromophobe renal cell carcinoma: An unexpected finding in a pelvic ultrasound

Abstract

‘Chromophobe’ is the third most common subtype of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounting for 5% of cases. Chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (chRCC) mostly presents sporadically (non-hereditary) but also is commonly demonstrated in people with Birt-Hogg-Dube (BHD) syndrome. The majority of chRCC are diagnosed in stages I or II and has a similar incidence in women (52%) and men (48%). ChRCC has a metastatic potential of 6%–7% with the most common sites to be liver, lung and retroperitoneal lymph nodes. Overall, chRCC has a better prognosis than other subtypes with a survival rate of approximately 90% at 5 years. This case study discusses an unexpected finding of chRCC during a pelvic ultrasound, the use of computed tomography (CT) diagnostic imaging for further characterisation and histological testing to gain accurate diagnosis. 2 | CASE DESCRIPTION