Renal cell carcinoma presenting as a cervical mass

ABSTRACT

The authors report a case of a 60-year-old woman presenting with a renal cell carcinoma in which the first sign leading to its diagnosis was a cervical metastasis, an uncommon site of distant disease in renal neoplasms. The patient had an 18-month history of a progressively enlarging cervical mass at the anterior aspect of the neck. After laboratory and radiological evaluation, the cervical mass was excised, and the microscopic and immunohistochemical patterns suggested the possibility of a metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Computerized tomography of the abdomen showed a solid, 4 cm left renal mass. A radical left nephrectomy was performed, and the histology confirmed the suspected diagnosis. The patient received immunotherapy, and in a follow-up period of 9 months, there was no evidence of recurrent disease. It seems that head and neck metastasis of renal cell carcinoma should preferentially be treated with surgical excision because of the associated morbidity and quality-of-life issues.