8-year survival in a patient with several recurrences of renal cell carcinoma after radical nephrectomy

We describe the case of a patient with a large renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who underwent cytoreductive nephrectomy utilizing liver mobilization techniques similar to those used in transplantation. Despite recurrent metastases, our patient continues to survive eight years later with several metastasectomies and adjuvant chemotherapy. We report the case of a 48-year-old Hispanic American man who presented with a 4-month history of an enlarging right upper quadrant abdominal mass and hematuria. Computerized tomography revealed a 13 x 14 x 14 centimeter mass suspicious of RCC with possible metastasis to the lungs. The patient subsequently underwent radical nephrectomy. Pathological analysis confirmed the mass as RCC. Over the following eight years, the patient developed metastases to the pulmonary lobes, buccal mucosa, thoracic spine, and second rib, which were all treated with metastasectomy. The patient continues to survive today with a reasonable quality of life. Palliative measures in patients with large RCC tumors with distant metastases require persistent, aggressive therapeutic modalities.