Solitary contralateral adrenal metastasis of renal cell carcinoma 15 years following radical nephrectomy: A case report and review of literature

INTRODUCTION: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is known to metastasize to almost every organ. A well-recognized phenomenon in RCC is late metastatic recurrence after nephrectomy which is arbitrarily defined as more than 10 years. The incidence of solitary ipsilateral and contralateral adrenal metastasis is 3% and 0.7% respectively in patients who have underwent radical nephrectomy. CASE REPORT: A57-year-old female presented with an incidental ultrasonic finding of a right adrenal mass 15 years after radical nephrectomy for left side renal cell carcinoma. Further evaluation with abdominal contrast enhanced CT scan revealed a right adrenal mass suggestive of metastatic lesion. The results of laboratory examinations showed the mass to be nonfunctional. Open right adrenalectomy was performed. She was discharged home on 4(th) postoperative day. Pathological examination revealed morphological and immunohistochemical findings in line with metastatic renal cell carcinoma of the left kidney. During the last 2 years she has being on regular follow up, neither local recurrence nor distant metastasis anywhere have been detected by whole body Positron Emission Tomography(PET) scan. DISCUSSION: Late metastatic contralateral adrenal recurrence from RCC is very rare and to the best of our knowledge, 5 similar cases have been reported 10 years after radical nephrectomy. Early diagnosis of adrenal metastasis is challenging because they are usually silent both anatomically and functionally. CONCLUSION: Solitary contralateral adrenal metastatic recurrence of RCC is extremely rare event. Surgical removal is a wise option in these cases that may improve survival.