Oral metastasis of renal cell carcinoma mimicking recurrence of excised malignant myoepithelioma: A case report

Abstract

Following breast and lung cancers, renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the third most frequent cancer to metastasize to the head and neck region, though such cases are rarely reported. Distinguishing between malignant tumors of salivary gland origin and metastatic RCC is very important. The case of a 75-year-old man with an oral cavity lesion in the left buccal submucosa measuring 40x30 mm that had grown substantially over several weeks is presented. His medical history included left kidney cancer 26 years earlier and a malignant myoepithelioma of the left buccal region 7 years earlier. It was suspected that this lesion was a recurrent malignant myoepithelioma as it appeared at the same site as the previous operation. Surgery was performed, and metastatic RCC was confirmed upon pathological examination. The diagnosis of metastatic RCC was made by immunohistochemical examination, which also excluded malignant myoepithelioma and other clear cell carcinomas of salivary gland origin. Metastatic RCC must be considered in the differential diagnosis of a new oral cavity lesion presenting in a patient with a past history of kidney cancer. Thus, immunohistochemical staining is required to distinguish malignancies of salivary gland origin, including malignant myoepithelioma, from metastatic RCC.