[Esophageal cancer metastatic to the kidney: report of a case]

Abstract

On December 12, 1988, 51-years-old man was admitted to our clinic with asymptomatic gross hematuria. He had been undergone total esophagectomy for esophageal cancer in the surgery service of our hospital on June 22, 1987, and histopathological diagnosis was squamous cell carcinoma, Stage III, a2, n(-), m0, pl0, ly(+), V(+). X-ray CT revealed a irregular, obscure bordered tumor image in the left kidney and angiography showed a hypovascular tumor. On December 20, nephrectomy was performed. Histologically, it proved to be squamous cell carcinoma metastasized from esophageal cancer. The present case is the 11th of those cases which have been clinically diagnosed as renal metastasis of esophageal cancer in Japan. An extremely small number of clinically reported cases compared with autopsy cases are thought to be ascribable to scarce detectability while living of such metastasis, but not to its rare occurrence. The coming diagnostic improvement may well make such case more and more increasing.