HEPATECTOMY FOR METASTATIC RENAL-CELL CARCINOMA

The experience with hepatectomy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (R CC) has been very rarely reported, because multiple organ metastases o rdinarily coexist when hepatic metastases are found out. Three patient s who underwent hepatectomy for metastatic RCC are presented here. Rad ical nephrectomy was performed for the primary renal lesions in. all t he patients, and their hepatic metastases were resected simultaneously in one of them with a solitary tumor, and about one month later in tw o of them with multiple (3 and 6) tumors. These operations produced no distinct complications. The patients with 1 and 3 hepatic metastatic lesions survived without tumor recurrence for 12 and 21 months, respec tively, while the patient with 6 hepatic metastatic Lesions had tumor- free interval of only 2 months and died 10 months after hepatectomy du e to lung metastasis. Hepatectomy may be the only promising treatment for hepatic metastases from RCC, but the indication for surgery should be evaluated according to the number of hepatic metastases.