Abstract
Background: Renal cell carcinoma is likely to metastasize to the lung or bone, while metastasis to the pancreas is relatively rare. Patients: We retrospectively reviewed 13 patients with pancreatic metastasis from renal cell carcinoma treated during the past 23 years at our hospital. Of these 13 patients, 8 underwent metastasectomy. Here, we report on the surgical procedures, prognosis, morbidity, and mortality in each case. Results: Among the 8 patients who underwent resective surgery, 1 underwent pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy; 4, distal pancreatectomy; 2, total pancreatectomy; and 1, middle pancreatectomy. No perioperative mortality was observed. Morbidity was observed in 2 patients. After pancreatic metastasectomy, 1 patient had recurrence within the remnant pancreas. Among these 8 patients, 5 are still alive and 2 have shown no evidence of recurrence. The median survival time of patients undergoing metastasectomy is 152 months. The 5 patients who did not undergo resection developed lung, bone, or liver metastases or thrombus in the inferior vena cava. Four of these patients died. Their survival time ranged from 22 to 90 months, with a median survival time of 38 months. Six patients had synchronous lesions, and 7 had metachronous lesions. Two of the patients with synchronous lesions/cancers showed long prognosis. Conclusion: If no uncontrollable metastasis, other than in the pancreas, is present, pancreatic metastasectomy could be acceptable. However, careful consideration of the surgical procedure is essential.
