Congenital genitourinary anomalies. Is there a predilection for multiple primary malignant neoplasms?

Abstract

A case of simultaneous uterine and renal cell carcinoma in an elderly woman who had a septate vagina, double cervix, uterus didelphys, and a single kidney secondary to contralateral renal agenesis is reported. She was treated for a period of 8 months, first with pelvic irradiation followed by total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo‐oophorectomy and subsequently with heminephrectomy. Her renal function was normal post‐operatively. The patient died of congestive heart failure in June 1990 after being free of carcinoma for approximately 18 years. The authors believe that this is the only case of its kind currently reported in the literature. Four of her family members died of either gastric (n = 3) or lung (n = 1) cancer, and one sister is alive with colon cancer. Only 19 proven cases of this constellation of congenital anomalies have been reported in the literature, and none have been associated with genitourinary (GU) carcinomas. There is a 50% to 70% incidence rate of genital tract anomalies in female patients with unilateral renal agenesis, secondary to the intimate association of the mesonephric and müllerian ducts. It has been suggested that the GU tract is prone to multiple primary malignant neoplasms, and there are families genetically predisposed to the development of large bowel and GU carcinomas. No conclusions can be drawn concerning the development of carcinoma in patients with congenital GU anomalies because of the small number of patients and the lack of follow‐up in the literature. Copyright © 1992 American Cancer Society