Cancer Res Treat.  2004 Aug;36(4):271-274.

Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Recurring as a Solitary Renal Mass

• Lim DH
• Im YH
• Ji SH
• Park BB
• Oh MJ
• Lee J
• Park KW
• Lee SH
• Park JO
• Kim K
• Kim WS
• Jung CW
• Park YS
• Kang WK
• Lee MH
• Kim K
• Shim YM
• Park K

Abstract

Herein, a case of solitary, unilateral renal metastasis in a patient with curatively resected thoracic esophageal carcinoma, who achieved a pathological complete remission after neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy, is reported. The kidney is the 4th or 5th most common visceral metastasis site of a primary esophageal carcinoma. More than 50% of renal metastases typically show bilateral involvement. Solitary, unilateral renal metastasis is extremely rare. Renal metastases from a primary esophageal carcinoma are usually latent and its diagnosis is very unusual in a live patient. The solitary renal metastasis in this case was not accompanied by metastases to other sites. The value of a nephrectomy in solitary renal metastasis of esophageal cancer is not known due to the rarity of such cases. A nephrectomy could be justified in limited situations, such as with uncertainty of histological diagnosis, severe life-threatening hematuria, which cannot be controlled by embolization, or solitary renal metastasis with a long disease-free interval.

Keyword

Esophageal carcinoma; Metastasis; Kidney

MeSH Terms

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell*
Chemoradiotherapy
Diagnosis
Esophageal Neoplasms
Hematuria
Humans
Kidney
Neoplasm Metastasis
Nephrectomy
Uncertainty

Figure

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  Fig. 1 CT scan of the kidney and a whole body FDG-PET scan of the patient. (A), (B) About 4.1×3.4 cm sized heterogeneous attenuating mass was detected on the anterior lip of the left kidney. (C), (D) A mass with high FDG uptake was seen on the lateral cortex area of the left kidney. The mass corresponded to the mass detected at the CT scan of the kidney.

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  Fig. 2 Gross and microscopic pathology of the kidney mass. A subcapsular protruding mass was found at the mid-portion of the left kidney. (A) Microscopic examination of the resected kidney showed a metastatic squamous cell carcinoma, which coincided with the histological findings of the previously resected esophageal carcinoma (H & E stain, B: ×200).

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