Copyright © 2019 The American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Inc. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
© 2019 Te American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Inc.
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Ophthalmic Plast Reconstr Surg, Vol. 35, No. 6, 2019 Case Reports
Renal Medullary Carcinoma With
Metastasis to the Temporal Fossa
and Orbit
Ritah Chumdermpadetsuk,*, Andrea A. Tooley, M.D.†,
Kyle J. Godfrey, M.D.†, Brian Krawitz, M.D.†,
Neil Feldstein, M.D.‡, and Michael Kazim, M.D.†
DOI: 10.1097/IOP.0000000000001478
*Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons; †Department
of Ophthalmology, Columbia University Medical Center; and ‡Department
of Neurosurgery, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New
York, U.S.A.
Accepted for publication August 7, 2019.
Supported by the Research to Prevent Blindness.
No Financial Disclosures
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Andrea A. Tooley, M.D.,
Harkness Eye Institute, Columbia University Medical Center, 635 West
165th Street, New York, NY 10032. E-mail: at3285@cumc.columbia.edu
Abstract: A 22-year-old Hispanic man with sickle cell trait
presented with blurred vision, double vision, and pain with
OD movement. MRI demonstrated an extra-axial mass
centered around the temporal bone with extension into the
middle cranial fossa and lateral aspect of the extra-conal
right orbit, and mass effect on the lateral rectus muscle.
Biopsy of the lesion was consistent with renal medullary
carcinoma. CT chest/abdomen/pelvis confirmed a primary
tumor in the right kidney. No additional metastases
were found. Renal medullary carcinoma is a rare, highly
aggressive malignancy, which almost exclusively affects
young men of African descent with sickle cell trait or sickle
cell disease. The authors present the second confirmed case
of renal medullary carcinoma metastatic to the orbit, with
ocular symptoms prior the typical presenting symptoms of
flank pain and hematuria.
R
enal medullary carcinoma (RMC) is a rare, highly aggres-
sive malignancy initially described in 1995 in a case series
of 34 patients.
1
Fewer than 400 total cases have been reported.
2
Renal medullary carcinoma typically occurs in the second and
third decades of life with male predilection, and almost ex-
clusively in persons of African descent with sickle cell trait or
sickle cell disease.
2
Most commonly, patients initially present
with gross hematuria and/or flank pain,
3
and regional lymphatic
and/or distant metastasis at the time of diagnosis, contributing
to a poor prognosis.
4
The most common sites of distant me-
tastasis include the liver, lungs, bones, inferior vena cava, and
omentum.
4
To the authors’ knowledge, only 1 case of RMC me-
tastasis involving the orbit, and 1 case of metastasis to the retina
and choroid have been reported in the literature.
4,5
In the case
of orbital metastasis, orbital symptoms preceded the diagnosis
of the primary tumor.
5
The authors present a case of RMC with
metastasis to the temporal fossa and orbit in a young Hispanic
man with sickle cell trait. This study is in compliance with the
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and adheres
to the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki;
consent to publish identifiable photographs has been obtained
and is archived with the authors.
CASE PRESENTATION
A 22-year-old Hispanic man presented with a 6-month
history of right-sided headache and 4 days of blurred vision,
double vision, and pain with OD movement. Ophthalmic
examination demonstrated a visual acuity of 20/20 OU, Hardy-
Rand-Rittler color plate identification of 2.5/6 OD and 3/6 OS
(the patient’s ophthalmic history includes red-green color blind-
ness), and full confrontational visual fields OU. Amsler grid
testing demonstrated metamorphopsia in the OD. Extra-ocular
motility was full OU, but painful in the OD. Intraocular pressure
was 21 mm Hg OD and 16 mm Hg OS. Right-sided proptosis
(Hertel 22, 18; base 100 mm) and mild upper eyelid ecchymosis
were noted along with a soft, palpable mass at the right tem-
poral region (Fig. 1). Dilated eye exam was within normal limits
without evidence of optic nerve or retinal abnormality. The re-
mainder of his ophthalmic exam was unremarkable.
MRI brain demonstrated an avidly enhancing extra-axial
mass (5.9 cm craniocaudal × 4.9 cm transverse × 4.6 cm anterior/
posterior) centered around the temporal bone with extension
into the middle cranial fossa with mass effect on the anterior
temporal lobe, as well as the lateral aspect of the extra-conal
right orbit with slight mass effect on the lateral rectus (Fig. 2).
CT of this lesion demonstrated extensive lytic changes in the
surrounding bone (Fig. 2). Differential diagnosis at this time
included meningioma, metastatic disease, or primary osseous
neoplasm. CT chest/abdomen/pelvis revealed a heterogenous
mass (1.6 × 2.4 × 1.6 cm
3
) in the right kidney with possible ex-
tension into the renal sinus, as well as an indeterminate 9-mm
hypodense hepatic lesion later characterized on MRI as con-
sistent with a hemangioma.
Hemoglobinopathy screening revealed 38.2% Hgb S,
consistent with previously undiagnosed sickle cell trait.
A biopsy of the lesion in the temporalis muscle revealed
a high-grade infiltrative neoplasm, arranged in nests and cords,
with areas of geographic necrosis. The tumor cells were highly
pleomorphic, with abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm as well as
occasional intracytoplasmic vacuoles. The nuclei were hyper-
chromatic, with prominent and sometimes eccentric nucleoli.
Frequent mitotic figures were identified. Immunohistochemistry
showed positive reactivity to PAX-8, CK, CK7, CAM5.2, and
loss of SMARCB1/INI-1, which were consistent with a diag-
nosis of RMC (Fig. 3).
FIG. 1. External photograph of the eye demonstrating right-
sided proptosis and mild upper eyelid ecchymosis and edema.
A, Submental view. B, Frontal view.