A case of renal cell carcinoma with small intestine metastasis occurring ten years after nephrectomy

Abstract

An 82-year-old male had a right nephrectomy due to renal cell carcinoma (stageIII) ten years prior to the current admission. He was found to have an ileus and an intestinal perforation because of an intestinal tumor. Emergency surgery was performed, and the tumor was resected. The tumor was found to be a renal cell carcinoma metastasis, since on pathology, clear cell carcinoma features were identified. A total of 40 cases of renal cell carcinoma with small intestine metastases that were reported in Japan from 1983 to 2010 is reviewed in this paper. Most cases of metastatic renal cell carcinoma involve lung metastases, because carcinoma cells are disseminated by venous flow. Our case is rare because the patient did not have concomitant lung metastasis. The case demonstrates that patients with renal cell carcinoma must be observed for a long time after nephrectomy. When renal cell carcinoma metastasizes to the intestine, the prognosis is usually poor. However, surgery can provide longer survival and better QOL.