Secondary Breast Malignancy from Renal Cell Carcinoma: Challenges in Diagnosis and Treatment—Case Report

Abstract

Renal cell carcinoma represents about 2% of all malignant tumours in adults. Metastases of the primary tumour in the breast make up to about 0.5–2% of the cases. Renal cell carcinoma metastases in the breast are extremely rare and have been sporadically recorded in the literature. In this paper, we present the case of a patient with breast metastasis of renal cell carcinoma 11 years after primary treatment. Case presentation: An 82-year-old female who had right nephrectomy due to renal cancer in 2010 felt a lump in her right breast in August 2021, whereby a clinical examination revealed a tumour at the junction of the upper quadrants of her right breast, about 2 cm, movable toward the base, vaguely limited, and with a rough surface. The axillae were without palpable lymph nodes. Mammography showed a circular and relatively clearly contoured lesion in the right breast. Ultrasound showed an oval lobulated lesion of 19 × 18 mm at the upper quadrants, with strong vascularisation and without posterior acoustic phenomena. A core needle biopsy was performed, and the histopathological findings and obtained immunophenotype indicated a metastatic clear cell carcinoma of renal origin. A metastasectomy was performed. Histopathologically, the tumour was without desmoplastic stroma, comprising predominantly solid-type alveolar arrangements of large moderately polymorphic cells, bright and abundant cytoplasm, and round vesicular cores with focally prominent nuclei. Immunohistochemically, tumour cells were diffusely positive for CD10, EMA, and vimentin, and negative for CK7, TTF-1, renal cell antigen, and E-cadherin. With a normal postoperative course, the patient was discharged on the third postoperative day. After 17 months, there were no new signs of the underlying disease spreading at regular follow-ups. Conclusion: Metastatic involvement of the breast is relatively rare and should be suspected in patients with a prior history of other cancers. Core needle biopsy and pathohistological analysis are required for the diagnosis of breast tumours.