Metastatic carcinoma of the gallbladder after a renal cell carcinoma

Acta Chir Belg. 2003 Apr;103(2):233-4. doi: 10.1080/00015458.2003.11679414.

Abstract

The gallbladder is rarely the site of distant metastases and in most cases malignant melanoma is the primary tumor. We report a case of a 64-year-old man with a gallbladder metastasis secondary to a renal cell carcinoma. Renal cell carcinoma has a tendency toward metastatic disease, the most notable features of this tumor being its unusual pattern of metastatic disease. Pre-operative imaging studies are often futile in the differentiation between primary and secondary tumors of the gallbladder. Since primary tumors of the gallbladder often coexist with gallstones, a polypoid lesion in an acalculous gallbladder is more consistent with metastasis than a primary tumour. If feasible, surgical resection of the gallbladder is mandatory because it could guarantee better chances of survival for patients with metastatic renal carcinoma.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Carcinoma, Renal Cell / secondary*
  • Carcinoma, Renal Cell / surgery
  • Gallbladder Neoplasms / secondary*
  • Gallbladder Neoplasms / surgery
  • Humans
  • Kidney Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged