Spontaneous Regression Of Pulmonary Metastases After Nephrectomy For Renal Cell Carcinoma
European Urology 10(3): 1984; 212-213
View Original Source →Abstract
A case history of a patient with two bone metastases, one in the femur and one in the pelvis, is presented. Regression of both metastases occurred after treatment of a spontaneous fracture of the femur with a Küntscher nail and a frozen cortical homograft. Three years later the primary tumour was discovered (a hypernephroma) and a nephrectomy was performed. A literature survey is given of known cases of regression of metastases of a hypernephroma and of regression of bone metastases. The possibility of an aspecific stimulation of the patient’s immune system by the homograft is studied and discussed.
Case Details
Personal Characteristics
57-year-old japanese male
Clinical Characteristics
Gross hematuria, right flank pain, space-occupying lesion in the right kidney, hypervascular malignant tumor involving the lower pole of the kidney, multiple soft nodules in the lung presumed to be pulmonary metastases, differentiated clear-cell carcinoma
Remission Characteristics
Disappearance of pulmonary metastases 8 years after nephrectomy without adjuvant therapy
Treatment & Mechanisms
Proposed Remission Mechanisms
Not discussed
Clinical Treatment
Right nephrectomy
Additional Notes
The patient was admitted with complaints of gross hematuria and right flank pain. Preoperative routine laboratory examinations were normal but the chest x-ray film showed multiple soft nodules which were presumed to be pulmonary metastases. Postoperatively, there were no changes in pulmonary lesions during 2 weeks after the operation. The patient was discharged 15 days postoperatively without any adjuvant therapy. 8 years after the operation, the patient visited the department again and the previously noted pulmonary metastases had disappeared.