Metastatic Lesion of the Tibia from Renal Cell Carcinoma

Renal cell carcinoma is responsible for 3% of all cancers, with the highest incidence occurring in Western countries. Additionally, in patients with osseous metastasis, only 3% occur within the tibia. Rarely, a patient presents with a primary complaint of lower limb pain in advanced metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Case Presentation. The patient arrived at the emergency department with a primary complaint of left ankle pain. Ankle X-rays demonstrated a lytic lesion involving the medial malleolus with possible metastatic disease. CT scan confirmed a tumor within the right kidney. The patient was treated with a laparoscopic radical nephrectomy with histopathologic confirmation of clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Biopsy was then performed of the tibial lesion, confirming metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma. The tibial lesion was treated with local radiotherapy, and because of the progression of the tibia lesion, a decision was made to amputate the leg. Additionally, the patient was enrolled to sunitinib treatment and was disease free at one year of follow-up. 13 months after diagnosis of cancer, she was suffering a major stroke of the brain that caused her to die.

The treatment of patients with osseous metastases of renal cell cancer depends on the number of metastases, location of metastases, and overall health of the patient. We performed an overview of available literature and provided a summary regarding the use of cytoreductive nephrectomy, local therapy, target therapy, and bone-targeting agents in the treatment of metastatic renal cell cancer.