Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2007 Jan 31:7:4.
doi: 10.1186/1471-230X-7-4.

Metastases from renal cell carcinoma presenting as gastrointestinal bleeding: two case reports and a review of the literature

Gareth J Sadler  1 , Mark R Anderson, Mark S Moss, Paul G Wilson
Affiliations
Review

Metastases from renal cell carcinoma presenting as gastrointestinal bleeding: two case reports and a review of the literature

Gareth J Sadler et al. BMC Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Background: Bleeding from small bowel neoplasms account for 1-4% of cases of upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage. Renal cell carcinoma constitutes 3% of all adult malignancies and often presents insidiously. Consequently 25-30% of patients have metastases at the time of diagnosis. Gastrointestinal bleeding from renal cell carcinoma metastases is an uncommon and under-recognised manifestation of this disease.

Case report: In this report we describe two cases of gastrointestinal bleeding from renal cell carcinoma metastases - in one patient bleeding heralded the primary manifestation of disease and in the other signified recurrence of disease following nephrectomy.

Conclusion: These cases highlight the importance endoscopic vigilance in cases of undiagnosed upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage, especially in patients with a past history of renal cell carcinoma.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Abdominal CT scan. Abdominal CT scan demonstrating a left-sided renal tumour (thick arrow) and a polypoidal mass in the wall of the second part of the duodenum (thin arrow) arising from the pancreas (not shown).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Coeliac angiogram. Figure 2A is an angiogram of the coeliac trunk. This demonstrates a highly vascular mass around the duodenum and pancreas and its blood supply from the pancreaticoduodenal arteries. Numerous other small vascular blushes are seen which represent further pancreatic metastases. Figure 2B is taken post- embolisation and demonstrates successful occlusion of the tumour's blood supply.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Abdominal CT scan. CT scan demonstrating the presence of a mass in the area of the pancreatic head and protruding into the duodenum (thick arrow) – note the previous left nephrectomy (thin arrow).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Loualidi A, Spooren PFMJ, Grubben MJAL, Blomjous CEM, Goey SH. Duodenal metastasis: an uncommon cause of occult small intestinal bleeding. Neth J Med. 2004;62:201–5. - PubMed
    1. Ashley SW, Wells SA. Tumors of the small intestine. Semin Oncol. 1988;15:116–28. - PubMed
    1. Waters WB, Richie JP. Aggressive surgical approach to renal cell carcinoma: Review of 130 cases. J Urol. 1979;122:306–9. - PubMed
    1. Griffiths LH, Thackray AC. Parenchymal carcinoma of the kidney. Br J Urol. 1949;21:128–51. - PubMed
    1. Pavlakis GM, Sakorafas GH, Anagnostopoulos GK. Intestinal metastases from renal cell carcinoma: A rare cause of intestinal obstruction and bleeding. Mt Sinai J Med. 2004;71:127–30. - PubMed