Surgery of metastases in renal cell carcinoma

Renal cell carcinomas (RCC) are endowed with impressive metastatic potential. Patients with RCC who present with apparently solitary metastatic lesions represent a small cohort. Due to the different long-term results achieved with surgical resection of metastatic RCC lesions, a generally accepted judgement about this treatment modality is not possible. Several studies suggest that aggressive surgical management can provide an effective treatment, especially in patients with solitary pulmonary metastases. Most noteworthy is the fact that because of the organ distribution of RCC metastases, surgical therapy is dominated by general and thoracic surgeons, neurosurgeons, and orthopaedic surgeons. Therefore, an interdisciplinary approach is one of the most important key points for a successful outcome in these patients.     

Surgery of non-spinal skeletal metastases in renal cell carcinoma

Background and purpose — Surgery for metastases of renal cell carcinoma has increased in the last decade. It carries a risk of massive blood loss, as tumors are hypervascular and the surgery is often extensive. Preoperative embolization is believed to facilitate surgery. We evaluated the effect of preoperative embolization and resection margin on intraoperative blood loss, operation time, and survival in non-spinal skeletal metastases of renal cell carcinoma.

Patients and methods — This retrospective study involved 144 patients, 56 of which were treated preoperatively with embolization. The primary outcome was intraoperative blood loss. We also identified factors affecting operating time and survival.

Results — We did not find statistically significant effects on intraoperative blood loss of preoperative embolization of skeletal non-spinal metastases. Pelvic localization and large tumor size increased intraoperative blood loss. Marginal resection compared to intralesional resection, nephrectomy, level of hemoglobin, and solitary metastases were associated with better survival.

Interpretation — Tumor size, but not embolization, was an independent factor for intraoperative blood loss. Marginal resection rather than intralesional resection should be the gold standard treatment for skeletal metastases in non-spinal renal cell carcinoma, especially in the case of a solitary lesion, as this improved the overall survival.     

Surgery for pulmonary metastases from renal cell carcinoma. Army experience from 1977-1987

The Army Medical Centers' combined ten-year experience (1977-1987) with renal cell carcinoma metastatic to the lung is presented. Those patients who underwent resection of the lung metastases were compared with those who did not. Certain factors within the two groups were analyzed mainly for effect on survival: number and location of pulmonary metastases, disease-free interval from nephrectomy, extent of lung resection, and synchronous vs asynchronous metastases. Comparisons were made with reports from the literature, and conclusions were made in reference to indications for resection and other modes of therapy.     

Palatal metastases in renal cell carcinoma.

Renal cell carcinoma may metastasize early in its course and sometimes before the primary lesion becomes apparent. Two cases of renal cell carcinoma with the initial manifestation of metastases to the roof of the mouth are presented. The mode of metastases to the palate is discussed.     

Nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma with metastases

The percentage of patients with renal cell carcinoma who also have identifiable metastases when first seen is increasing. In the past metastases were considered justification for excluding nephrectomy in the management of the patient. However, numerous opportunities for therapy which are abetted by removal of the primary tumor are presented. It is concluded, depending on several variables, that the advantages of nephrectomy usually justify the procedure.     

Cutaneous metastases of renal cell carcinoma

Renal cell carcinoma has an unknown evolution. We report a case of a man with a skin metastases from renal cell carcinoma and an unfortunate result, five years after its radical surgical treatment. We review the literature and emphasize the need of a long and exhaustive surveillance in these patients.     

Cutaneous metastases in renal cell carcinoma

Cutaneous metastases from a renal cell carcinoma are rarely diagnosed during life. We report a case of renal carcinoma metastatic to the skin that occurred 18 months after kidney removal. The cutaneous metastasis was excised. Cutaneous metastases from urological tumors are uncommon and occur in 1% of the patients, and their clinical appearance may mimic other common dermatological disorders affecting patients with advanced malignancies.     

Cutaneous metastases in renal cell carcinoma

Cutaneous metastasis from renal cell carcinoma is believed to be rare. We present our experience with 10 (3.3%) cases seen in the last 12 years among 306 cases of renal adenocarcinoma treated at our center. There were 9 males and 1 female. Age ranged from 30 to 65 years (average 45 years). 5 patients had skin metastases at the time of presentation (stage IV). In one of them the skin nodule, rather than urologic symptoms, was the presenting complaint. 5 patients presented with skin metastasis during follow-up after nephrectomy. The average time to skin metastasis was 51 months for patients in stage I and 13 months in stage IIIb. The scalp was the most common site of metastasis followed by chest and abdomen. 90% of patients had secondaries in at least one other site, most commonly in lungs (4 cases) and bones (5 cases). 4 patients were treated with interferon-alpha 6 MIU, subcutaneously, three times a week for varying periods from 3 to 4 months but there was no response. In conclusion, cutaneous secondaries from RCC, though uncommon, are not very rare. A few patients may present with a skin mass before detection of the renal tumor. Patients with low-stage disease at presentation may also develop cutaneous secondaries, therefore a prolonged follow-up is required. The commonest site for cutaneous metastasis from RCC is the scalp and face. Most patients had at least one other site of systemic metastasis, hence they were not candidates for curative therapy. Interferon therapy was not helpful. Mean survival after detection of cutaneous metastasis was 7 months.     

Intrascrotal metastases from renal cell carcinoma

This is an up-to-date report about two patients suffering respectively from testicular and epididymal metastases of a renal adenocarcinoma in the condition following tumour nephrectomy in anamnesis. It is a survey on literature including the number of cases published.     

Solitary ureteral metastases of renal cell carcinoma

Metachronous presentation of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) to the ureter is extremely rare. We report a solitary metachronous metastatic RCC in the contralateral ureter 14 months after right radical nephrectomy for Fuhrman grade 2 pT3a clear cell disease after the patient re-presented with gross hematuria. The proximal left ureteral lesion was excised followed by ileal-ureteral interposition. Pathologic examination confirmed metastatic RCC. To date, only 51 cases of metastatic RCC to the ureter have been reported, with only 6 occurring metachronously in the contralateral ureter. Also, we report the presence of focal extramedullary hematopoiesis occurring within this metastatic lesion.     

Scalp metastases of a renal cell carcinoma

An 80-year-old man presented with a localized tumor of the right occipital scalp. The tumor was a 1-cm, bright red-purple, ulcerated, and crusted exophytic nodule on a smooth base (Figure 1). The lesion had grown asymptomatically over 18 months except for profuse bleeding induced by minimal trauma. It was extirpated with the clinical diagnosis of pyogenic granuloma vs. renal metastasis to the scalp. The patient's medical history included a transurethral prostatic resection 3 years earlier and, 1 year later, a right nephrectomy for a 2-kg kidney tumor verbally reported as "benign." The patient also had a 2-year history of untreated high blood pressure. Histopathologically, the excised tissue was an exo-endophytic nodule of a solid form composed of pleomorphic neoplastic cells with abundant clear cytoplasm, surrounded by fibrous collagen septae, blood vessel proliferation, and areas of hemorrhage (Figures 2 and 3). The histopathologic diagnosis of metastatic renal cell carcinoma was supported by immunohistochemistry with positive epithelial membrane antigen staining (Figure 4). Cytokeratins 7 and 20 were nonreactive. Laboratory studies revealed hematuria and elevated creatinine and urea nitrogen levels, but no malignant cells were observed in five urinary cytologies. Renal ultrasound showed the presence of two simple cysts in the left kidney and data compatible with chronic inflammatory disease.     

Treatment of osseous metastases secondary to renal cell carcinoma.

Osseous metastases occur in 25 to 50% of the patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. We retrospectively reviewed our experience with 14 patients who underwent 20 palliative orthopedic procedures for treatment of bony metastases secondary to renal cell carcinoma. Of the patients 6 presented after nephrectomy (group 1) and 8 presented initially with osseous metastases (group 2). Only 1 of the group 2 patients underwent adjunctive nephrectomy. Overall, 5 of 14 patients (36%) presented with fracture and 9 of 14 (64%) presented with impending fracture. Five patients required multiple procedures. A total of 7 lesions had been previously treated with external radiation. Of the 20 orthopedic procedures 17 (85%) resulted in significant functional improvement and 18 (90%) resulted in significant relief of pain. There were 4 major complications in the series, including 2 culminating in amputation. Average survival after palliative orthopedic procedures was 22 months (range 7 to 64 months) with a 1-year survival rate of 58%. Orthopedic palliation of osseous metastases from renal cell carcinoma is effective, and our experience indicates that the majority of renal cancer patients with bone metastases will survive long enough to benefit from palliative orthopedic procedures.     

Gamma surgery for intracranial metastases from renal cell carcinoma

OBJECT: The goal of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and limitations of gamma surgery (GS) in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma that has metastasized to the brain. METHODS: The authors performed a retrospective analysis of a consecutive series of 21 patients with 37 metastatic brain deposits from renal cell carcinoma who were treated with GS at the University of Virginia from 1990 to 1999. Clinical data were available in all patients. No patient died of progression of intracranial disease or deteriorated neurologically following GS. Eight patients clinically improved. Follow-up imaging studies were available for 23 tumors in 12 patients. Nine patients did not undergo follow-up imaging. One patient lived 17 months and succumbed to systemic disease: no brain imaging was performed in this case. Another patient refused further imaging and lived 7 months. Seven patients lived up to 4 months after the procedure; however, their physicians did not require these patients to undergo follow-up imaging examinations because of their general conditions-all had systemic progression of disease. Of the 23 tumors that were observed posttreatment, one remained unchanged in volume, 16 decreased in volume, and six disappeared. No tumor progressed at any time, and there were no radiation-induced changes on follow-up imaging an average of 21 months after GS (range 3-63 months). CONCLUSIONS: Gamma surgery provides an alternative to surgical resection of metastatic brain deposits from renal cell carcinoma. Neurological side effects were seen in only one case; freedom from progression of disease was achieved in all cases.     

Osseous metastases secondary to renal cell carcinoma

We present the distribution of metastases and clinical course of 252 patients with osseous metastases secondary to renal cell carcinoma. Symptoms of the metastases were the presenting complaint in 48 per cent of patients (including 37 with pathologic fractures); the axial skeleton was the most commonly involved site. Despite earlier reports that nephrectomy lenthened survival for patients with osseous metastases, our data showed this to be true only for patients with a solitary osseous metastasis. Patients with multiple osseous metastases had survival rates no better than patients with soft tissue or mixed lesions—whether or not nephrectomy was performed.     

Isolated testicular metastases from renal cell carcinoma

Testicular metastasis from renal cell carcinoma is very rare. Herein we report a case of left-side renal cell carcinoma initially diagnosed to be clinically stage II, which developed left-side testicular metastases 2 months following radical nephrectomy. High inguinal orchiectomy was carried out. The patient was asymptomatic 2 months later. Although renal vein involvement in renal cell carcinoma is common and its extension into inferior vena cava well documented, tumour invasion of spermatic veins is rare.     

Isolated pleural metastases from renal cell carcinoma

A 71-year-old female was referred with three right-sided intrathoracic tumours. In 2003, she underwent radical left nephrectomy for renal cell cancer (RCC) clinical stage 1. She was since followed at her local hospital with annual computed tomography (CT)-scans during the first five years and did not present any symptoms until October 2009 when she was admitted with shortness of breath, cough and tiredness. The patient was scheduled for a diagnostic thoracoscopy when it was discovered that her lesions were not located in the lung parenchyma but were protruding nodules from the parietal pleura. Histology demonstrated metastases from RCC which apparently can reach the parietal pleura without lung metastases.