Coexisting upper tract urothelial carcinoma and renal tuberculosis: A rare presentation

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is a global public health problem and is a leading cause of death, especially in underdeveloped and developing countries. In the majority of instances, renal tuberculosis is caused by the secondary hematogenous transmission of mycobacterium from pulmonary lesions to the renal cortex either during the initial TB infection or reactivation/endogenous reinfection of an old tuberculous focus. Upper tract urothelial carcinoma is a relatively rare kind of genitourinary malignancy and the majority of them take their origin from the urothelial lining epithelium. The co-occurrence of both renal tuberculosis and upper tract urothelial carcinoma is a rare presentation, and several theories have been proposed to demonstrate the etiological relationship between these two conditions. Here we reported a case of co-existing renal tuberculosis and urothelial carcinoma in a 54-year-old female with a remote history of treated pulmonary tuberculosis and also discussed the possible etiological root causes for their co-occurrence.