Masson’s tumor of the kidney: a case report

BACKGROUND: Intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia (known also as Masson’s tumor) is a benign vascular lesion that commonly occurs in the skin and is rarely found in solid organs, especially in the kidney. In what follows, we will look into the first case of an unexpectedly diagnosed Masson’s tumor of the kidney presenting as a suspicious renal cyst. CASE PRESENTATION: A 61-year-old Arab man presented with a left renal cyst, incidentally revealed by ultrasonography. The laboratory values were unremarkable. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a 38 mm left renal midportion Bosniak IV cyst. Our patient underwent a radical nephrectomy. Histopathology revealed the diagnosis of intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia. There was no recurrence detected after 9 years of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Renal intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia is a rare benign tumor which can mimic a suspicious renal mass on radiological findings. Thus, this entity should be considered more often in the thick of the diagnostic possibilities in order to avoid unnecessary nephrectomies. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13256-018-1898-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.