Journal of Medical Case Reports (May 2018)

Gallbladder metastasis of renal clear cell carcinoma 15 years after primary cancer excision: a case report

  • Yasufumi Saito,
  • Hiroshi Okuda,
  • Makoto Yoshida,
  • Seiji Okimasa,
  • Toshikatsu Fukuda,
  • Masatsugu Yano,
  • Makoto Ochi,
  • Yuzo Okamoto,
  • Hirofumi Nakayama,
  • Eiji Ono,
  • Hideki Ohdan

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13256-018-1569-3
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 1
pp. 1 – 7

Abstract

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Abstract Background Renal cell carcinoma is well-known for its propensity to metastasize to unusual sites. However, metastasis to the gallbladder has been rarely reported in the literature. Case presentation A 75-year-old Japanese (Asian) woman presented for further evaluation of a gallbladder polyp, 15 years after right radical nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma. Computed tomography revealed a 12 mm enhancing pedunculated tumor in the gallbladder fundus. Open simple cholecystectomy was performed and the tumor was histologically confirmed as a metastasis of renal cell carcinoma to the gallbladder. Our patient is alive and has been disease-free for 3 years after cholecystectomy. Conclusions Although metastasis of renal cell carcinoma is a rare differential diagnosis of gallbladder tumors, simple cholecystectomy is likely to offer a chance of long-term survival for patients with gallbladder metastases of renal cell carcinoma.

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