Solitary pleural metastasis from renal cell carcinoma: a case of successful resection

While renal cell carcinoma frequently metastasizes to the lung, solitary pleural metastasis without lung involvement is extremely rare. A 69-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with a solitary pleural metastasis 6 years after surgery for renal cell carcinoma. Needle biopsy was performed, and the tumor was diagnosed as a metastasis of renal cell carcinoma. The pleural tumor was surgically resected. The patient received interferon-α as postoperative therapy. He has been alive for 9 years without recurrence. Only 11 cases of solitary pleural metastasis have been reported thus far, and of these, 7 involved a large amount of pleural effusion resulting in a poor prognosis. This is the first reported case of solitary pleural metastasis from renal cell carcinoma, which was curatively resected, as indicated by long-term survival.