Arteriography in Wilms' tumour—the results of 13 cases and comparison to renal dysplasia

Arteriography was performed in 13 children with suspected Wilms' tumour to establish the diagnosis before pre-operative radiotherapy. The characteristic tumour circulation showed thin, elongated and attenuated “spider-leg” vessels and tortuous “corkscrew” vessels in all cases. Abrupt changes of calibre and direction with micro-aneurysms at the bends were common, as were areas of avascularity and delayed emptying of tumour vessels. These appearances successfully differentiated cases of Wilms' lumour from other conditions giving similar urographic findings. An exception was a case of multilocular cystic kidney which had similar arteriographic findings to those noted in Wilms' tumour.