Renal cell carcinoma with nephrotic syndrome: a case report and literature review

In previous studies, the association between malignant tumors and the development of glomerular disease has been well documented. Malignant tumors that cause glomerular damage are mainly classified into two categories: Hematological tumors and solid tumors. Of them, the most common type is Hodgkin’s lymphoma, while renal carcinoma is substantially infrequent. This study describes a 67-year-old Chinese male patient who was hospitalized for nephrotic syndrome with the symptoms of hypertension, edema and foamy urine, and has not taken any related drugs before. In the process of hospitalization, a renal carcinoma in the stage T1N0M0 was suspected by abdominal enhanced computed tomography scan. What is unique about this patient is the treatment—removing the tumor first may aggravate the kidney damage, which leads to further deterioration of renal function and using hormone drugs to treat nephrotic syndrome may cause tumor enlargement. Ultimately, the patient underwent the surgery of laparoscopic partial nephrectomy and took pathological examinations of the renal neoplasm and the normal tissue next to the tumor. Based on the pathological results, renal cell carcinoma with membranous nephropathy (MN) was verified. After reviewing the case reports of renal cancer with glomerular disease in the past 50 years, it is hoped to provide a basis for the standardized diagnosis and treatment of this combination disease in renal.