Papillary renal cell carcinoma with cutaneous metastases

Cutaneous metastasis is a rare form of presentation of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Case reports and case series of RCC with skin metastasis in the English literature from 1972 to 2008 were identified by searching the keywords "renal cell cancer," "papillary renal cell tumor," "skin metastasis," and "cutaneous metastasis" in the National Library of Medicine, PUBMED, OVID, and EMBASE search engines. Although a few cases of RCC with skin metastasis are reported in the literature, almost all are clear cell histologic type. We are reporting a unique case of papillary RCC with cutaneous metastases diagnosed at our institution along with a comprehensive literature review of papillary RCC etiology, clinical presentation, prognosis, diagnosis, and the treatment options that are currently available.