Isolated soft tissue mass of the finger as the first presentation of oligometastatic renal cell carcinoma

Abstract

A man in his 70s was referred to plastic surgery with a suspected foreign body in the pulp of his right index finger. An excisional biopsy was performed for a presumed foreign body granuloma. Histology revealed metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). CT imaging demonstrated a 7.4 cm heterogeneous mass arising from the upper pole of the left kidney consistent with primary renal malignancy, in addition to a 9 mm lung nodule. He underwent an uncomplicated left laparoscopic cytoreductive nephrectomy and made a satisfactory recovery. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of primary mRCC presenting with digital soft tissue metastasis. Cytoreductive nephrectomy with metastasectomy is the preferred management for mRCC where feasible. For unfavourable mRCC cases, first-line systemic therapy is indicated. Adjuvant systemic therapy in mRCC is currently limited to clinical trials, though promising data emerging on the use of pembrolizumab may herald a future shift in practice.