SARCOMATOID RENAL-CELL CARCINOMA WITH WIDESPREAD METASTASES TO LIVER AND BONES IN A KIDNEY-TRANSPLANT RECIPIENT

A case of sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma with widespread metastases to liver and bones in a cadaver renal transplant recipient is reported in this article. The patient underwent a kidney transplant at the age of 43 and was treated with various immunosuppressive agents after sur gery. Twelve months after the transplantation, multiple tumors were fo und in the liver, and the patient died 8 months later. Pathological ex amination at autopsy revealed renal cell carcinoma with a sarcomatoid component in the right native kidney and metastases to liver and bones . It is unusual for renal cell carcinoma to undergo sarcomatous transf ormation and to metastasize to the liver before reaching other organs. We speculate that immunosuppressants may have altered malignant cell proliferation, invasion, and the form of metastasis in this case.