Bilateral adrenal masses from renal cell carcinoma: a case report

We report a case of bilateral adrenal metastasis from renal cell carcinoma. A 65-year-old man was referred to our hospital for a right renal mass. A computed tomography revealed a 9 cm right renal tumor and bilateral adrenal masses (3.5 cm on the right side and 4.5 cm on the left). A right radical nephrectomy and bilateral adrenalectomy demonstrated renal cell carcinoma with metastasis to bilateral adrenal glands. The pathological findings of the right renal tumor showed clear cell carcinoma, G3 > G2 and both adrenal tumors showed the same pathology as the right renal tumor. The patient is alive with lung metastasis after 15 months postoperatively treated with interferon-alpha.     

Solitary pancreatic metastasis from renal cell carcinoma

A case of asynchronous bilateral renal cell carcinoma with pancreatic metastasis is described. Left nephrectomy and tumorectomy in the right kidney were performed. Solitary metastasis to the pancreas without symptoms was treated by distal pancreatectomy with tumor and splenectomy. Although bilateral renal cell carcinomas were histologically renal cell carcinoma (clear cell subtype, grade 2), the resected pancreatic tumor was renal cell carcinoma with sarcomatoid change. Therefore, the metastatic tumor had a more malignant potential than the primary tumor. The pancreatic metastasis was seen at 6 years 10 months and 2 years 6 months after left nephrectomy and enucleation of the right renal tumors, respectively. The patient is alive without disease and is being treated by alpha-interferon for 12 months after distal pancreatectomy. A careful long-term follow-up of the patient with renal cell carcinoma seems to be necessary.     

Metastatic renal cell carcinoma presenting as an intrasellar mass on computerized tomography

We report a case of renal cell carcinoma metastatic to the pituitary gland. A review of the literature indicated breast carcinoma to be the most frequent primary tumor metastatic to this site, while renal cell carcinoma metastasis has not been reported previously. This case emphasizes the capricious nature of renal cell carcinoma, particularly in a patient presenting with no evidence of disseminated disease.     

A case of solitary metastasis of renal cell carcinoma to the thyroid gland

A case of solitary metastasis of renal cell carcinoma to the thyroid gland is reported. A 63-year-old-woman had been found to have an abnormal mass in the neck since April, 1986. She had a past history of right nephrectomy owing to right renal tumor 6 months earlier. Histological examination of the renal tumor revealed, common type, alveolar type, G1, INF alpha renal cell carcinoma. No metastasis was found on abdominal CT, chest tomography and bone scintigram at that time. Radical thyroidectomy was performed on June, 23, 1986. Histological examination by hematoxylin and eosin staining revealed metastasis of renal cell carcinoma, and immunohistochemical technique ruled out primary thyroid carcinoma. Postoperatively no other metastasis was found on head-chest-abdomen-CT, chest-tomography or bone scintigram. Therefore no particular adjuvant therapy was performed.     

Bladder metastasis from renal cell carcinoma three years after nephrectomy

A 47-year-old man presented with gross hematuria. He underwent right nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma (clear cell subtype, pT1N0M0) three years ago. Cystoscopy revealed a solitary, non-papillary tumor in the middle of the inter-ureteric ridge. Transurethral resection of the tumor was done. Histological diagnosis was renal cell carcinoma (clear cell subtype). This was considered to be a metastatic tumor from the renal cell carcinoma treated three years earlier. This case may represent a so-called latent distant metastasis.     

Concomitant renal cell carcinoma with pituitary adenoma

Renal cell carcinoma has a complex and variable natural history. We report a case underlining this who presented concomitant renal cell carcinoma metastasis with pituitary and adrenocortical adenomas. A 62-year-old woman presented with visual loss. Imaging revealed a large sellar mass with suprasellar extension. Four years before, nephrectomy and adrenalectomy had been performed for a renal cell carcinoma with metastasis in a coexistent adrenocortical adenoma. Faced with progressive visual loss and the questionable pituitary pathology, the patient underwent trans-sphenoidal surgery. Due to profuse tumor bleeding, only a biopsy was possible. In a second operation, the patient underwent craniotomy with subtotal resection of the tumor. Histological examination of the specimen revealed a metastasis of the renal cell carcinoma and a pituitary adenoma. The case presented here and a review of the reports suggest that there are some differences between the clinical features and outcomes of metastases of renal cell carcinoma and those of pituitary gland metastases from other primary sites.     

Contralateral ureteral metastasis from renal cell carcinoma: a case report]

A case of contralateral ureteral metastasis from renal cell carcinoma is reported. A 52-year-old man underwent left nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma of November 20, 1986. He was clinically asymptomatic for 4 years 8 months after the operation. He was admitted on August 14, 1991, because of right loin pain. Right retrograde pyelography and percutaneous pyelography showed a filling defect in the right ureter at the level of L3. After the right ureter was explored, the tumor lesion of ureter was resected and end to end anastomosis of the ureter was performed. Histopathologic examination showed a metastatic clear cell carcinoma consistent with a renal primary. The contralateral ureteral metastasis from renal cell carcinoma is very rare and only 15 cases have been reported previously.     

Positive correlation between sialyl Lewis X expression and pathologic findings in renal cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Interaction between tumor cells and endothelium plays a major role in cancer invasion and metastasis. Among various cell adhesion molecules, the cognate interaction between sialyl Lewis antigen expressed in the tumor cell surface and E-selectin expressed on endothelial cells is considered to be crucial for the tumor cell adhesion to the endothelium. METHODS: The sialyl Lewis X (sL(X)) expression in 45 specimens from renal cell carcinoma patients was examined using immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: In this study, we demonstrate that the immunoreactivity for sL(X) in renal cell carcinoma specimens not only correlates with conventional histopathologic parameters but also serves as a useful indicator for the prognosis of renal cell carcinoma. CONCLUSION: Since beneficial effect of cimetidine has been reported and ascribed to its inhibitory action on the expression of E-selectin, a ligand molecule of sialyl Lewis antigen, cimetidine may also show inhibitory effect on the tumor recurrence and metastasis of renal cell carcinoma with high level of sL(X) expression.     

Solitary Thyroid Metastasis of Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma: Report of a Case

A case of solitary thyroid metastasis of renal clear cell carcinoma is described. The patient was a 77-year-old Japanese woman, who was referred to our department after a thyroid tumor was identified in May 1999. She had a history of renal clear cell carcinoma of the left kidney, which had been partially resected 3 years previously. Ultrasound sonography demonstrated that a well-demarcated hypoechoic mass containing high-echo spots representing small calcifications, which measured 45 × 34 × 31 mm in size, occupied the left lobe. Computed tomography revealed a low-density mass containing small calcifications. The results of preoperative fine-needle aspiration cytology strongly suggested a clear cell carcinoma metastasizing to the thyroid. A left hemithyroidectomy was performed on July 27, 1999. A histological examination revealed that the neoplasm was composed of tumor cells with abundant clear cytoplasm and round nuclei. The histological characteristics of this thyroid tumor were virtually identical to the renal cell carcinoma resected3 years previously. Thyroglobulin stained negatively in the clear cells of the resected thyroid tumor in an immunohistochemical analysis. Clinically, the thyroid gland is a rare site of tumor metastasis; however, we should also consider the possibility of metastasis in the case of thyroid tumor patients with a history of renal cell carcinoma. Received: March 3, 2000 / Accepted: September 26, 2000     

Intramedullary spinal cord metastasis from renal cell carcinoma mimicking intramedullary hemangioblastoma

A rare case of intramedullary spinal cord metastasis from renal cell carcinoma mimicking intramedullary hemangioblastoma was described. A 57-year-old man had a nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma in the left kidney 5 years ago, and no recurrence or metastasis was found in computed tomography and bone scintigraphy. Later, the patient was presented as having bilateral shoulder pain and severe palsy of bilateral upper and lower extremities, and a solitary tumor in the intramedullary spinal cord was found at the C4 level. Excision of the tumor was performed and the intraoperative pathological diagnosis suspected the tumor to be hemangioblastoma. However, a final pathological examination revealed characteristics consistent with metastasis of renal cell carcinoma. Although the patient’s neurological condition and neuralgia initially slightly deteriorated postoperatively, they then gradually improved. Twenty-two months after the operation, a follow-up magnetic resonance imaging showed no recurrence of intramedullary spinal cord tumor, and there were no other metastases found in other organs.     

A renal cell carcinoma with metastasis to the tongue

A 42-year-old man had rapidly progressing metastasis to the tongue 3 months after nephrectomy due to renal cell carcinoma. He visited an otolaryngeal clinic with the chief complaint of bleeding and pain on his tongue. Biopsy of the tongue revealed metastasis from the renal cell carcinoma. After treatment with radiation and chemotherapy, the tongue tumor was disappeared macroscopically. Renal cell carcinoma metastasizing to the tongue is rare. Statistical studies on the report of metastasis to the tongue of renal cell carcinoma are reviewed.     

Ureteral and bladder metastases of renal cell carcinoma following synchronous renal cell carcinoma and bladder cancer; a case report

A 73-year-old man presented with gross hematuria. Ultrasonography and computerized tomography showed small bladder tumors and a left renal mass protruding to renal pelvis. Transurethral resection of bladder tumor and ureteroscopic tumor biopsy were performed, and pathological examinations revealed transitional cell carcinoma in the bladder and renal cell carcinoma in the kidney. He underwent left radical nephrectomy. A 4-month postoperative cystoscopy revealed a solitaly non-papillary tumor in the bladder. Transurethral resection was performed and pathological diagnosis was metastasis from renal cell carcinoma. At that time, multiple metastases to ureteral stump and lung were found. He had undergone palliative treatment because of his poor general condition until he died 26 months postoperatively. Care should be taken for management of ureteral stump when diagnostic ureteroscopy was done for renal cell carcinoma invading the renal pelvis.     

A case of renal cell carcinoma metastasizing to the contralateral kidney and renal pelvis

Extremely rarely renal cell carcinoma metastasizes to the contralateral renal pelvis or ureter. A 42-year-old man had undergone left radical nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma (pT1b, grade 2) in March, 2000. Fifteen months later, he complained of macroscopic hematuria. Computed tomographic scanning and retrograde pyelography showed a right renal pelvic tumor. Enucleation of pelvic tumor was performed and a parenchyma mass incidentally identified in the right kidney was also resected. Histopathological examination of each tumor revealed renal cell carcinoma identical to the primary tumors in the left kidney suggesting metastasis to renal pelvis and de novo tumor or metastasis in the right kidney.     

Bladder metastasis of renal cell carcinoma : report of a case

A 65-year-old man presented with gross hematuria in 2004. Computed tomography (CT) showed a left renal mass, and he underwent laparoscopic radical nephrectomy. Pathological diagnosis was clear cell carcinoma (pT2N0M0, G2＞G3). Four years later, a right adrenal tumor was disclosed by follow-up CT. Then laparoscopic adrenectomy was performed. Histology showed metastasis of the renal clear cell carcinoma. In 2009, he noticed gross hematuria, and cystoscopy revealed a 2cm solitary, non-papillary tumor at the anterior wall of the bladder. At the same time, small solitary liver metastasis (6 mm) was observed on abdominal CT. Transurethral resection of the bladder tumor and resection of liver tumor was performed, and pathological diagnosis was clear cell carcinoma both in vesical and hepatic masses. Nine months after the last surgery, he is living with no obvious tumor recurrence. To our knowledge this case is the 34th case of bladder metastasis from renal cell carcinoma in the Japanese literature. We reviewed literature and discuss the clinical features of bladder metastasis of renal cell carcinoma.     

Solitary metastasis to the urinary bladder from renal cell carcinoma: a case report

A 48-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with a bladder mass which was detected by a general practitioner. Ultrasonography showed a small bladder tumor and right renal mass. Cystoscopy revealed a solitary, non papillary tumor at the right side of the retro-trigone. Computed tomography revealed a large tumor at the right kidney. Transurethral resection of the bladder tumor was performed. The histopathological diagnosis was clear cell carcinoma. There was no other distant metastasis. Sequentially, radical nephrectomy was performed. Histopathologically, the right renal tumor showed clear cell carcinoma. This was considered to be a case of a solitary metastatic bladder tumor from renal cell carcinoma.     

A case of renal cell carcinoma associated with paraganglioma

A 64-year-old man was referred to our hospital for the treatment of left renal cell carcinoma associated with a tumor located on the back of the inferior vena cava. At first the tumor located on the back of the inferior vena cava was suspected to be lymphnode metastasis of renal cell carcinoma. A more detailed examination at our hospital revealed elevation of vanillylmandelic acid in urine and (131)Imetaiodobenzylguanidine uptake in the tumor. We diagnosed the tumor as paraganglioma and operated both tumors at the same time. Histological examination revealed chromophobe renal cell carcinoma and paraganglioma. His important to discriminate paraganglioma in the renal cell carcinoma that has an atypical swelling of lymphnode.     

Gallbladder Metastasis of Renal Cell Carcinoma: Report of Two Cases

We report two extremely rare cases of metastasis to the gallbladder from renal cell carcinoma. In both men, aged 63 and 80 years, a pedunculated polypoid gallbladder tumor was incidentally found 27 and 8 years after surgery for renal cell carcinoma, respectively. The tumors showed hypervascularity on diagnostic imaging. A histopathological examination showed no tumor cells in the gallbladder mucosa, but clear cell carcinoma was predominantly observed below the mucosal layer. Furthermore, based on various specific and immunohistochemical studies as well as the electron-microscopic findings, the patients were pathologically diagnosed to have gallbladder metastasis of renal cell carcinoma. Received: February 16, 2001 / Accepted: September 11, 2001     

Pancreatic metastasis from renal cell carcinoma 25 years after radical nephrectomy

We report a case of pancreatic metastasis from renal cell carcinoma detected 25 years after radical nephrectomy. A 74-year-old man, who had undergone radical nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma at age 49, was found by computed tomography to have a strongly enhanced mass on the pancreatic head. The patient underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy and the pathological diagnosis was metastatic renal cell carcinoma. This was evidently a slow growing tumor because the metastatic pancreas tumor was well demarcated and the metastasis was found 25 years after the primary operation. Aggressive surgical treatment of isolated metastatic lesions offers a chance of long-term survival. Patients with a history of RCC should undergo a long-term follow-up to detect and evaluate metastasis to pancreas as well as other organs.     

A case of metastatic renal cell carcinoma to the ovary

A 52-year-old woman had a pathological fracture of the right femur. On histopathological examination bone metastasis from renal cell carcinoma was suspected. Abdominal computed tomography showed a heterogeneous mass (9.1 x 7.8 x 6.5 cm) in the left kidney and a cystic multilocular mass (12 x 10 cm) in the pelvis. Bone scintigraphy revealed an abnormal uptake in the left coracoid process, right third rib, and right distal femur and proximal tibia. Clinical diagnosis was left renal cancer with multiple bone metastases (cT2NOM1, stage IV) and a right ovarian tumor. We performed left radical nephrectomy and resection of right ovarian tumor by bilateral adnexectomy. On histopathological examination, the left kidney tumor was diagnosed as renal cell carcinoma (clear cell carcinoma with chromophobe component, G2 > G1). The ovarian tumor consisted of carcinoma of clear cell type (G2) that resembled components of left renal cell carcinoma, confirming the diagnosis of metastatic renal clear cell carcinoma to the ovary. Although she underwent immunotherapy with interferon, she died 10 months after nephrectomy. Metastasis to the ovary from renal clear cell carcinoma is very rare and only 18 cases have been reported in the literature. This rarity may be related to the difficulty of differential diagnosis between metastatic renal cell carcinoma to the ovary and primary ovarian clear cell carcinoma. Elaborate analysis of microscopic features and immunohistochemical profiles may help in the distinction of this metastatic lesion.     

The value of morphological prognostic criteria in the assessment of renal cell carcinoma

In this study, we examined some of the morphological values from the large number of prognostic parameters indicated in the literature by establishing survival statistics. Primary distant metastasis formation was confirmed to be a prognostically unfavorable factor. Regional metastasis formation takes an intermediate position between the primarily distantly metastasized and the primary non-metastasized renal cell carcinoma. In the primarily non-metastasized renal cell carcinoma, tumor invasion into the renal vein is associated with prognostic deterioration, obviously due to a linkage to other unfavorable tumor characteristics. The histological degree of malignancy as a single prognostic parameter seems to be of little informational value if no other tumor data are taken into consideration. The classification of renal tumors according to Robson proves to be of great clinical relevance, especially when it is combined with the histological degree of malignancy. The prognostic scheme by Hermanek 'combined staging and grading' must be recommended as the prognostic scheme of choice. Apart from special histological types of the renal cell carcinoma, such as the papillary or sarcomatous variant, and with reservation as to the tendency to unpredictable secondary metastasis formation that is peculiar to the renal cell carcinoma, a prediction of the prognosis according to the morphological criteria mentioned above is possible to a satisfactory degree within certain limits.