Clear cell and papillary renal cell carcinomas in hereditary papillary renal cell carcinoma (HPRCC) syndrome: a case report

BACKGROUND: Hereditary papillary renal cell carcinoma (HPRCC) is a rare autosomal dominant disease characterized by the development of multiple and bilateral papillary type I renal cell carcinomas (RCC) and papillary adenomas caused by activating mutations in the MET proto-oncogene. Classically, distinctive histological features of RCC are described according to the familial renal cell carcinoma syndrome. To date, no clear cell RCC has been reported in HPRCC syndrome. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe the case of a 51-year-old man with a germline MET mutation detected on peripheral blood testing, and no germline VHL mutation, who developed numerous papillary tumors but also unexpectedly clear cell renal cell carcinomas. During the follow-up, an adrenal metastasis was observed 7 years after the initial diagnosis corresponding to a clear cell RCC metastasis. By immunohistochemistry, clear cell tumors showed focal cytokeratin 7, moderate racemase, and diffuse and membranous CAIX expression, while papillary tumors expressed strong diffuse cytokeratin 7 and racemase without CAIX positivity. Using FISH, VHL deletion was observed in one of the clear cell tumors, and the metastatic clear cell tumor presented a trisomy of chromosomes 7 and 17. These last genomic alterations are usually detected in papillary RCC, highlighting the potential link between both histological subtypes of tumors and the HPRCC syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: The pathologist must be aware that the presence of a non-papillary RCC associated with numerous papillary tumors should not exclude the diagnostic suspicion of HPRCC and thus to perform a thorough genomic study.