Limited pancreatectomy for metastatic pancreatic tumors from renal cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Metastasis of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) to distant organs occurs commonly, even after radical nephrectomy, but metastatic lesions are rarely detected in the pancreas. The present study aim was to improve the postoperative quality of life of a patient with pancreatic metastasis of RCC through limited resection of the pancreas.

METHODOLOGY: Since therapeutic modalities including chemotherapy or radiation are ineffective for metastatic tumors, surgical intervention is a treatment of choice in selected patients. In patients with multiple pancreatic metastases, however, near-total or total pancreatectomy may result in a lower quality of life postoperatively due to endocrine and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.

RESULTS: We used limited resection of the pancreas combined with removal of the uncinate process and distal pancreatectomy for a 65-year-old woman with multifocal pancreatic metastases located in the uncinate process, body, and tail of the pancreas, which were detected 6 years after radical nephrectomy for RCC. This surgical procedure allowed preservation of about 40% of the pancreatic parenchyma, with complete excision of metastatic tumors in the pancreas.

CONCLUSIONS: The patient has had an excellent quality of life with well-preserved pancreatic function and no evidence of tumor recurrence for 31 months after pancreatic surgery.