A Rare Case of Renal Squamous Cell Carcinoma with Underlying Staghorn Calculus as Confounding Factor

Renal cell carcinoma is one of the most common kidney pathologies in adults, responsible for approximately 90-95% of cases. The most common variant is clear cell accounting for 60-70% of cases, while papillary accounts for 10-15% of the cases.

Diagnosis of carcinoma in the presence of staghorn calculus is seen in less than 1% of patients in recorded data. However, squamous cell carcinoma of the kidney is a rare condition usually associated with chronic irritation by a foreign body, most likely due to staghorn calculus. Here we present a case report of a 65 year old male who came with complaint of pain in the abdomen since two months associated with malaise, weight loss and fever.

CT KUB was suggestive of a non-excreting enlarged left kidney with multiple calculi with abnormal cortical and periureteric lesions with encasement of adjacent vessels. Histopathological report revealed a rare case of primary squamous cell carcinoma, most probably originating from the pelvis and secondarily infiltrating the renal parenchyma and associated with nephrolithiasis and hydronephrosis. Initially the patient was managed conservatively. Later the patient underwent nephrectomy.