Twelve patients with ureteral tumours with or without ipsilateral renal pelvic neoplasms were retrospectively analysed. Haematuria was the most common symptom. Location of all tumours was preoperatively detected by conventional diagnostic methods, such as intravenous or retrograde pyelography, washing cytology of the upper urinary tract, computed tomography, echogram and abdominal aortography. Cumulative proportion survivals of 1, 3 and 5 years were 81.9%, 68.2% and 45.5%, respectively. Patients with high Karnovsky rating survived longer (p less than 0.05) than those with low rating. Patients with low-stage tumours (T1, T2) showed longer survival rate (p less than 0.001) than those with high-stage tumours (T3, T4). Vascular invasion of tumour cells was present in removed specimens in 4 out of 7 patients who died or are alive with cancer, but none in those who survived without disease. Good therapeutic response could not be achieved unless surgery was performed.