Atypical Locations of Renal Cell Carcinoma Metastases to the Pancreas and Duodenum

Pancreatic tumors account for a small percentage of all malignancies. Most of them are primary and originate from cells of the exocrine pancreas. The remaining primary changes are neuroendocrine tumors. The pancreas may also be a target of metastatic lesions. The most common cancer that metastasizes to the pancreas is renal cell carcinoma.

The paper presents two cases of rare metastases to organs of the abdominal cavity: the first patient treated surgically due to two metastatic lesions of renal cell carcinoma in the pancreas, diagnosed many years after radical nephrectomy. The second case of high gastrointestinal obstruction in the course of metastasis of renal cell carcinoma to the duodenum. The first patient underwent distal laparotomic resection of the pancreas. The second patient underwent resection of the duodenum and the first jejunal loop with side-to-side duodeno-jejunal anastomosis. Both patients remain under oncological supervision.

Patients after radical nephrectomy due to renal cell carcinoma require long-term systematic monitoring. Due to the anatomical position of the pancreas and duodenum as well as the number, location and size of metastatic lesions, the course of the disease may be initially asymptomatic or oligosymptomatic. Aggressive surgical treatment of pancreatic metastases creates opportunities for long-term survival.