Endoscopy 2012; 44(S 02): E177-E178
DOI: 10.1055/s-0031-1291751
Unusual cases and technical notes
© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Solitary gastric metastasis from a renal cell carcinoma, presenting 23 years after radical nephrectomy

T. Namikawa
1   Department of Surgery, Kochi Medical School, Nankoku, Japan
,
J. Iwabu
1   Department of Surgery, Kochi Medical School, Nankoku, Japan
,
H. Kitagawa
1   Department of Surgery, Kochi Medical School, Nankoku, Japan
,
T. Okabayashi
1   Department of Surgery, Kochi Medical School, Nankoku, Japan
,
M. Kobayashi
2   Department of Human Health and Medical Sciences, Kochi Medical School, Nankoku, Japan
,
K. Hanazaki
1   Department of Surgery, Kochi Medical School, Nankoku, Japan
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Corresponding author

T. Namikawa, MD, PhD
Department of Surgery
Kochi Medical School
Kohasu, Oko-cho, Nankoku
Kochi 783-8505
Japan   
Fax: +81-88-880-2371   

Publication History

Publication Date:
23 May 2012 (online)

 

A 65-year-old man presented to our department for evaluation of a gastric mass. His medical history revealed that he had undergone left nephrectomy for a renal cell carcinoma (RCC) 23 years earlier. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) revealed a strongly enhancing, well-defined, 2.5-cm diameter mass in the stomach ([Fig. 1]). Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) showed a 2.5-cm, polypoid lesion in the upper part of the body of the stomach ([Fig. 2]).

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Fig. 1 Abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan showing a 2.5-cm mass in the stomach, which demonstrated strong enhancement after intravenous administration of contrast material.
Zoom
Fig. 2 Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) showing a well-circumscribed, polypoid lesion in the upper part of the body of the stomach.

A clinical diagnosis of gastric metastasis from the RCC was made. There was no evidence of further metastatic lesions in other organs, so the patient underwent a wedge resection of the gastric wall. Gross examination of the resected specimen revealed a round tumor that measured 2.5 × 2.0 × 1.5 cm ([Fig. 3]). Histopathology demonstrated a metastatic, clear cell-type RCC, which was confined to the mucosa and submucosa ([Fig. 4]). The patient is alive, with no signs of disease recurrence 2 months after the operation.

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Fig. 3 Macroscopic appearance of the resected specimen showing a polypoid mass with a nodulated surface.
Zoom
Fig. 4 Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained section demonstrating neoplastic cells with clear cytoplasm consistent with renal cell carcinoma (magnification × 200).

The stomach is an unusual site for metastasis even in autopsy studies, with a reported incidence of only 0.2 % – 0.7 % [1] [2]. This case confirms the potential of RCC for late and solitary metastasis to the stomach. Although gastric metastases may be recognizable as abnormalities on EGD, their morphology is variable and there is no characteristic appearance that defines metastatic disease [1]. To the best of our knowledge, this is only the seventh case of a solitary gastric metastasis from RCC to be reported in the English literature [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]. From these cases, the median patient age was 67 (range 58 – 78), the median tumor size was 2 cm (range 1 – 5 cm), and the median duration between the initial operation and the appearance of the gastric metastasis was 10 years (range 1 – 23 years). All the patients were treated by surgical resection. One patient died from liver metastases 5 months later. For patients with a solitary gastric metastasis from RCC, surgical resection has been the preferred choice of treatment.

Endoscopy_UCTN_Code_CCL_1AB_2AD_3AB


Competing interests: None


Corresponding author

T. Namikawa, MD, PhD
Department of Surgery
Kochi Medical School
Kohasu, Oko-cho, Nankoku
Kochi 783-8505
Japan   
Fax: +81-88-880-2371   


Zoom
Fig. 1 Abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan showing a 2.5-cm mass in the stomach, which demonstrated strong enhancement after intravenous administration of contrast material.
Zoom
Fig. 2 Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) showing a well-circumscribed, polypoid lesion in the upper part of the body of the stomach.
Zoom
Fig. 3 Macroscopic appearance of the resected specimen showing a polypoid mass with a nodulated surface.
Zoom
Fig. 4 Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained section demonstrating neoplastic cells with clear cytoplasm consistent with renal cell carcinoma (magnification × 200).