Renal angiomyolipoma-patient characteristics and treatment with focus on active surveillance

Scand J Urol. 2020 Apr;54(2):141-146. doi: 10.1080/21681805.2020.1716066. Epub 2020 Jan 23.

Abstract

Objectives: To present a patient material of renal angiomyolipoma (AML) with focus on the risk of bleeding during active surveillance (AS).Methods: Medical records, 1999-2014, were studied and 98 patients (80 female, 18 men) with renal AML were identified. Eleven patients had tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). Mean age was 54 (13-89) years.Results: Sixty patients (61%) were asymptomatic at presentation, 33 (34%) presented with flank pain and five (5%) with hematuria. Retroperitoneal bleeding or hematuria was diagnosed in 20 patients with a mean AML size of 74 mm (25-200 mm). Twenty-one patients were treated with angioembolization at time of diagnosis and 25 had surgery. Forty-five patients with sporadic AML (mean size 34 mm) and six with TSC (mean size 120 mm) were selected for AS. Only one patient with sporadic AML (46 mm) had a bleeding, whereas two of the six TSC patients had bleedings from three kidneys (AML 70-300 mm). In 25 patients (49%), the AML-size increased with 2.7 mm/year in sporadic and 5.4 mm/year in TSC-associated AML. Thirteen patients were treated with AE (including all six TSC-patients) and five with surgery in 22 kidneys due to AML-size in 16, bleeding in four and suspicion of cancer in two.Conclusion: Bleeding occurred in 20% of AML at presentation. In patients selected for AS, we found a very low risk of bleeding in sporadic AML justifying our cut off size of 50 mm to trigger intervention. In TSC-associated AML individually tailored follow-up is needed due to a higher intervention rate.

Keywords: Angiomyolipoma; Tuberous sclerosis complex angioembolization; active surveillance; kidney; retroperitoneal bleeding.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Angiomyolipoma / complications*
  • Female
  • Hemorrhage / epidemiology*
  • Hemorrhage / etiology*
  • Humans
  • Kidney Neoplasms / complications*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Risk Assessment
  • Tuberous Sclerosis / complications
  • Watchful Waiting*
  • Young Adult