Introduction: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a type of urological malignancy that affects approximately 2% of the global population. Imaging modalities, especially computed tomography (CT) scanning, play a critical role in diagnosing RCC. In this study, we investigated whether there is a relationship between tumour grade of clear cell RCC and HU values of renal lesions on CT scan performed before operation.
Materials and Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 123 patients who underwent radical or partial (open or laparoscopic) nephrectomy for clear cell RCC between January 2017 and January 2021. Post-operation histopathological grades were recorded according to World Health Organization (WHO)/International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) 2016 grading system and divided into low grade (includes grade 1 and 2) and high grade (grade 3 and 4), and their links to age, sex, smoking habits, tumour size, and HUs of renal lesions were evaluated.
Results: The mean age of the patients studied was 63.02 years old. About 56.9% of the patients were low grade (grade 1 or grade 2), while 43.1% were high grade (grade 3 or 4). The mean tumour size was 6.31 cm. There were no significant differences in tumour grade according to age, sex, or smoking habits. We found a significant relation between tumour grade and HU in the pre-contrast and nephrogenic phases, with p values of 0.001 and 0.037, respectively. On the other hand, there was no significant relation linking the tumour grade to the difference in HU between these phases, where there was a p value of 0.641.
Conclusion: HU in the pre-contrast and nephrogenic phases in addition to tumour size on CT scan have a significant relation to clear cell RCC grade.

Keywords: renal cell carcinoma, grade, stage, Hounsfield unit, CT scan


中文翻译：

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我们能否通过计算机断层扫描（一项回顾性横断面研究）从肾脏病变的Houns-Field单元预测透明细胞肾细胞癌的级别

简介：肾细胞癌 (RCC) 是一种泌尿系统恶性肿瘤，影响全球约 2% 的人口。成像方式，尤其是计算机断层扫描 (CT) 扫描，在诊断 RCC 中发挥着关键作用。在本研究中，我们探讨了透明细胞肾细胞癌的肿瘤分级与术前CT扫描的肾脏病灶HU值之间是否存在关系。
材料和方法：我们对 2017 年 1 月至 2021 年 1 月期间因透明细胞肾细胞癌接受根治性或部分（开腹或腹腔镜）肾切除术的 123 例患者进行了回顾性分析。术后组织病理学分级根据世界卫生组织 (WHO)/国际泌尿病理学会（ISUP）2016年分级系统，分为低级（包括1级和2级）和高级（3级和4级），及其与年龄、性别、吸烟习惯、肿瘤大小和HU的联系评估肾脏病变。
结果：研究患者的平均年龄为 63.02 岁。约56.9%的患者为低级别（1级或2级），43.1%为高级别（3级或4级）。平均肿瘤大小为 6.31 cm。根据年龄、性别或吸烟习惯，肿瘤分级没有显着差异。我们发现在对比前和肾发生期肿瘤分级和 HU 之间存在显着相关性，p 值分别为 0.001 和 0.037。另一方面，肿瘤分级与这些阶段之间的 HU 差异没有显着关系，p 值为 0.641。
结论：除了 CT 扫描上的肿瘤大小外，造影前和肾发生期的 HU 与透明细胞 RCC 分级也有显着关系。

关键词：肾细胞癌，分级，分期，Hounsfield单位，CT扫描