Renal metastasis from intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma metastases to kidney and renal hilar lymph nodes through epithelial-mesenchymal transition: a case report and literature review

BACKGROUND

Esophageal cancer (EC) metastasized to the kidney is extremely rare clinically. Here, we present a case of metachronous renal metastasis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) through epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT).

CASE PRESENTATION

A 60-year-old patient, male, complained of left waist pain for 5 days, 11 months after radical esophagectomy. Laboratory tests revealed haematuria. Both CT and PET-CT scan showed retroperitoneal lymph nodes and left renal masses. Subsequently the patient received a left nephrectomy and lymph nodes resection, and squamous cell carcinoma of kidney and renal hilar lymph nodes was diagnosed, combined with morphology, medical history and immunophenotype, it was presumed to be metastasis of ESCC through the EMT pathway.

CONCLUSIONS

The renal metastasis of squamous cell carcinoma should be considered in patients with history of EC, although this is very rare. Histopathological examination combined with immunochemical detection is helpful in differential diagnosis.

Secondary Tumors of the Kidney: A Comprehensive Clinicopathologic Analysis

Metastases to the kidney are rare and were historically described in autopsy series, and the incidence ranged between 2.36% and 12.6%. However, in the contemporary literature with the improvements in imaging modalities (computed tomography scan and magnetic resonance imaging) and other health care screening services, metastatic tumors to the kidney are being diagnosed more frequently in surgical specimens. The utility of needle core biopsies in the primary evaluation of renal masses has also increased the number of sampled metastases, and as a result, only limited histologic material is available for evaluation in some cases and may potentially lead to diagnostic pitfalls. In the last decade, a few large clinical series have been published. In these series, the majority of metastatic tumors to the kidney are carcinomas, with the lung being the most common primary site. A significant number of the various tumor types with metastasis to the kidney are also associated with widespread metastases to other organs, and the renal metastasis may present several years after diagnosis of the primary tumor. The majority of secondary tumors of the kidney are asymptomatic, incidentally discovered, and solitary. There should be a high index of suspicion of metastasis to the kidney in patients with an associated enlarging renal lesion with minimal to no enhancement on imaging and tumor progression of a known high-grade nonrenal malignancy. Secondary tumors of the kidney can be accurately diagnosed by correlating histopathologic features with clinical and radiographic findings and the judicious use of ancillary studies.