Papillary renal cell carcinoma presenting as a renal abscess

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC), a highly aggressive and lethal urological malignancy, has a wide variation of signs and symptoms. We report a rare case of papillary RCC (pRCC), presenting as a renal abscess. The knowledge of this association between RCC and a renal abscess is critical to prevent misdiagnosis and/or delayed treatment especially in the elderly and immunocompromised patients.