Background: Secondary jejunal tumor from renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is extremely rare in clinical practice and is easily missed and misdiagnosed because of the low incidence and atypical symptoms.
Case summary: A 38-year-old male patient was diagnosed pathologically with left RCC after radical nephrectomy in 2012. The patient then suffered multiple lung metastases 2 years later and was treated with oral sorafenib without progression for 6 years. In 2020, an emergency intestinal segmental resection due to intestinal obstruction was required, and postoperative pathology confirmed a jejunal secondary tumor from RCC. The patient had a smooth recovery following surgery. Three months after surgery, the patient was diagnosed with left adrenal metastasis, and subsequent sintilimab therapy has stabilized his condition.
Conclusion: This report is written to remind urologists and pathologists of the potential for small intestinal secondary tumors when a patient with a history of RCC seeks treatment for digestive symptoms. Enteroscopy and abdominal contrast-enhanced computed tomography are essential means of examination, but severe cases require immediate surgical intervention despite the lack of a preoperative examination to distinguish tumor attributes.
Keywords: Case report; Renal cell carcinoma; Secondary jejunal tumor; Small bowel obstruction; Surgery; Tumor metastasis.
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