Incidental finding of renal cell carcinoma in an asymptomatic patient on low-dose computed tomography screening for lung cancer
Steven Jones 1 , Laura D. Bauler 2 4 , Michael Baumgartner 3 , Mark Schauer 31 Medical Student, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine, Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA.
2 Department of Biomedical Sciences, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine, Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA.
3 Department of Medicine, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine, Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA.
4 Corresponding author: Email: Laura.bauler@med.wmich.edu
Journal of Primary Health Care 13(4) 370-372 https://doi.org/10.1071/HC21114
Published: 17 December 2021
Journal Compilation © Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners 2021. This is an open access article licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: In 2013, the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommended annual low-dose computed tomography (CT) screening for lung cancer in high-risk adults with a significant smoking history. These screenings result in large numbers of incidental findings, and although most of these do not warrant further investigation, there have been reported cases of incidental findings identified on CT screening that led to successful treatment of a previously undiagnosed comorbidity.
CASE HISTORY: Here, we report a case of papillary renal cell carcinoma that was detected incidentally on low-dose CT in an asymptomatic individual, a rare diagnosis considering that renal neoplasms account for <1% of incidental findings on these screenings.
CONCLUSION: This case highlights the value of investigating these incidental findings, with the goal of detecting underlying disease in some cases before it would have presented symptomatically.
KEYwords: Early detection of cancer/methods; incidental findings; kidney neoplasms; renal cell carcinoma; quaternary prevention; early detection of cancer/economics; primary care physicians; low-dose computed tomography.
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