[Cerebellar hemangioblastoma developing after nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma]

Cerebellar hemangioblastomas are known to be occasionally associated with abdominal tumors such as renal cyst and renal cell carcinoma. But most of the abdominal tumors reported are clinically silent and usually diagnosed after the hemangioblastomas have been found in the central nervous system. We report a rare case in which a renal cell carcinoma preceeded in its onset of symptoms 4 years to a cerebellar hemangioblastoma. A 56-year-old female underwent left nephrectomy because of a left renal cell carcinoma at the age of 49. About 4 years after the nephrectomy, she developed signs and symptoms of intracranial hypertension and was operated on for a cerebellar tumor which was histologically diagnosed as hemangioblastoma. Her family history was non-contributory. Four years later, recurrence of the cerebellar tumor was found on the CT scan and abdominal studies were negative except for a suspected parapelvic cyst in the right kidney on abdominal ultrasonography. Subtotal removal of the cerebellar hemangioblastoma was performed followed by irradiation.