Late onset metastasis from renal cell carcinoma masquerading as a gallbladder polyp

Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 2021 Jan;103(1):e13-e16. doi: 10.1308/rcsann.2020.0193. Epub 2020 Sep 24.

Abstract

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for approximately 3% of all adult malignancies. A third of people with RCC have metastatic lesions when diagnosed, and another third develop metachronous metastasis during follow-up or after surgical treatment. We report a case of gallbladder metastasis from clear-cell RCC in a 71-year-old woman 13 years after RCC of her right kidney. Preoperative imaging studies showed a suspicious, progressively enlarged gallbladder polyp. The patient underwent open cholecystectomy and lymph node dissection along the hepatoduodenal ligament. The pathology report was compatible with metastatic disease from the kidney that was previously resected. Gallbladder metastasis can occur from RCC several years after initial management. Physicians should be aware of this rare pathology, and intensive follow-up is essential after surgery for RCC.

Keywords: Gallbladder polyp; Late onset; Metastasis; Renal cell carcinoma; Treatment.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Carcinoma, Renal Cell / diagnosis*
  • Carcinoma, Renal Cell / secondary
  • Carcinoma, Renal Cell / surgery
  • Cholangiopancreatography, Magnetic Resonance
  • Cholecystectomy
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Female
  • Gallbladder / diagnostic imaging
  • Gallbladder / pathology
  • Gallbladder / surgery
  • Gallbladder Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Gallbladder Neoplasms / secondary
  • Gallbladder Neoplasms / surgery
  • Humans
  • Kidney Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Kidney Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Kidney Neoplasms / surgery
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / diagnosis*
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / secondary
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / surgery
  • Nephrectomy
  • Polyps / diagnosis*