Research
Renal tumors and second primary pancreatic tumors: a relationship with clinical impact?
1 Department of General, Visceral and Transplant Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
2 Department of Urology, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
3 Unit for Documentation and Statistics, Department of Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
4 Department of Surgery, Kantonsspital St. Gallen, Rorschacherstrasse 95, St.Gallen, CH – 9007, Switzerland
Patient Safety in Surgery 2012, 6:18 doi:10.1186/1754-9493-6-18
Published: 8 August 2012Abstract
Background
The occurrence of synchronous or metachronous renal cell carcinoma and pancreatic tumors has been described only in a few cases in the scientific literature. The study of double primary cancers is important because it might provide understanding of a shared genetic basis of different solid tumors and to detect patients at risk for secondary malignancy.
Methods
In a combined analysis of patient registries from University Departments of Urology and Visceral Surgery, 1178 patients with pancreatic tumors and 518 patients with renal cell carcinoma treated between 2001 and 2008 were evaluated,
Results
Overall 16 patients with renal cancer and synchronous (n = 6) or metachronous (n = 10) primary pancreatic tumors were detected. The median survival of all patients was 12.6 months, for the patients with synchronous resections 25.7 months and for the patients with metachronous resections 12.2 months, respectively.
Conclusions
The association between these two etiologies of malignancy demands more detailed epidemiological and molecular investigation. Clinical outcomes would support a resection as a recommended clinically valid option.
