cystic lesion

[jrsygal]

I had a ct scan with w/o contrast, and barium the day before and day of. results say:

4mm cystic lesion in the posterolateral parenchyma of the mid right kindey, too small to accurately characterize.
Otherwise normal right kidney. Normal ureters.

As a 3 year BC  survivor, I know the importance of double checking all results. And the word "lesion" often can be associated with cancer. I check on the web and am not finding any real answers. Should I be contacting my oncologist?

thank you

[Fernando Roque, MD]

Hi.  The kidney itself is usually resistant to metastatic cancer spread coming from distant organs.  Breast cancer is also not known to spread to the kidneys.  The usual organs involved in breast cancer metastases are the lungs, bones, liver and brain.  Another thing that makes that lesion less likely to be cancer is its cystic appearance.  Cancerous lesions in the kidney are usually solid masses, not cystic.  A small cystic lesion in the kidney is not an unusual finding in normal kidneys.  What you can do is to have the CT scan repeated after a few months (4-6 months) to see if there are any changes.  But I really doubt that that cystic lesion is cancer.

[jrsygal]

Thank you so much Dr Roque, I appreciate you writing back to me.

Have a great year!