Renal cell carcinoma presenting as a cervical mass

Abstract

The authors report a case of a 60-year-old woman presenting with a renal cell carcinoma in which the first sign leading to its diagnosis was a cervical metastasis, an uncommon site of distant disease in renal neoplasms.The patient had an 18-month history of a progressively enlarging cervical mass at the anterior aspect of the neck. After laboratory and radiological evaluation, the cervical mass was excised, and the microscopic and immunohistochemical patterns suggested the possibility of a metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Computerized tomography of the abdomen showed a solid, 4 cm left renal mass. A radical left nephrectomy was performed, and the histology confirmed the suspected diagnosis. The patient received immunotherapy, and in a follow-up period of 9 months, there was no evidence of recurrent disease. It seems that head and neck metastasis of renal cell carcinoma should preferentially be treated with surgical excision because of the associated morbidity and quality-of-life issues.

An Atypical Presentation of Renal Cell Carcinoma in a Child: A Neck Mass

“…A comprehensive literature review on cervical lymph node metastasis as the presenting symptom of renal cell carcinoma was done recently by a few authors. Pompeo et al reported a RCC case who presented with a cervical metastasis as the first sign leading to diagnosis (12). Ozkiris et al and Chori et al also reported two RCC cases presented with neck masses (13,14).…”

Skull Base Clear Cell Carcinoma, Metastasis of Renal Primary Tumor: A Case Report and Literature Review

“…The highest incidence is found in individuals in the sixth and seventh decades of life, 66 being the median age at diagnosis [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. RCC has a strong propensity to metastasize; 25% of patients initially present with distant metastasis and another 50% develop metastasis during follow-up [1, 6, 7].…”

“…RCC has a strong propensity to metastasize; 25% of patients initially present with distant metastasis and another 50% develop metastasis during follow-up [1, 6, 7]. It is the third most frequent neoplasm to metastasize to the head and neck region, preceded only by breast and lung cancer [1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10]. Although infrequently reported, head and neck regional metastases may be linked to RCC in up to 8–15% of cases [1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9].…”

“…It is the third most frequent neoplasm to metastasize to the head and neck region, preceded only by breast and lung cancer [1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10]. Although infrequently reported, head and neck regional metastases may be linked to RCC in up to 8–15% of cases [1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9]. The most affected regions of the head and neck include the paranasal sinuses, larynx, jaws, temporal bones, thyroid gland, and parotid glands.…”

“…Excision of solitary metastatic lesions of RCC following nephrectomy results in a survival rate of 41% at 2 years and 13% at 5 years. The prognosis for patients with multiple RCC metastases is poor, with a 5-year survival rate of 0–7% [2, 4, 9, 14]. …”