Double resection for patients with pancreatic cancer and a second primary renal cell cancer

Abstract

Background: Reports of synchronous or metachronous double kidney-pancreas cancers are very rare.

Methods: We present 2 patients with renal cell carcinoma and synchronous (1 patient) or metachronous (1 patient) primary pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. The patients underwent resection for both cancer types with a worthwhile outcome.

Results: The appearance of different primaries in an individual may indicate a genetic predisposition to different neoplasms. The study of double primary cancers is important because it might provide understanding of a shared genetic basis of different solid tumors.

Conclusions: The association between these two cancers demands more detailed epidemiological and molecular investigation. From a clinical viewpoint a resectional policy is recommended.