Introduction:
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for 3% of all adult malignancies and is known for its poor prognosis. At the time of diagnosis up to 30% of patients will present with metastasis. We report multiple metastases of RCC to rare sites; twice to pancreases, thyroid, twice to subcutaneous tissue, and the other kidney- occurring years after the radical nephrectomy.
Case presentation:
Our case is of a 51-year-old female who underwent a right radical nephrectomy for RCC. Upon 6 years post-operative surveillance for recurrence, multiple metastatic lesions were found in the head of the pancreas which were resected by a Whipple procedure. Four years later, she presented with a thyroid nodule and fine needle aspiration showed metastatic RCC. The patient underwent a total thyroidectomy. Months later, the patient presented with a right forearm mass. Biopsy showed metastatic RCC. Excision with negative margins was performed. A year later, a metastatic lesion was found in the tail of pancreas in addition to a recurrent metastatic mass over the right forearm. The patient underwent completion pancreatectomy and resection of the forearm mass. One year later, another metastatic lesion was found in the left kidney, for which the patient underwent left partial nephrectomy with negative margins.
Conclusion:
RCC is one of the most aggressive malignancies. A high index of sucion is crucial to detect its metastasis. As some lesions maybe missed because they lack the classical radiological findings or are found in atypical locations, in addition to the latent recurrence of RCC metastasis, a lifelong follow-up is recommended.