Intraglomerular micrometastasis of squamous cell carcinoma

Clin Kidney J. 2012 Aug;5(4):292-6. doi: 10.1093/ckj/sfs051.

Abstract

Intraglomerular metastasis is a rare manifestation of disseminated malignancies. We present here a case of intraglomerular metastatic carcinoma diagnosed as an incidental finding on a kidney biopsy in a 62-year-old male presenting with acute renal failure and metastatic penile squamous cell carcinoma. A proliferative lesion composed of highly atypical epithelial cells was found within a capillary loop and adjacent urinary space of an isolated glomerulus, which was immunoreactive for markers of squamous cell carcinoma. This case is a reminder that circulating cancer cells can occasionally lodge in glomeruli and appear as micrometastasis in kidney biopsies performed for the evaluation of renal dysfunction.

Keywords: intraglomerular metastasis; kidney biopsy; penile squamous cell carcinoma.