Key result
Renal cell carcinoma and incidental AAA present as polycythemia despite normal erythropoietin levels.
Why the study?
The occurrence of polycythemia with renal cell carcinoma and normal erythropoietin levels, along with concomitant abdominal aortic aneurysm, is unusual and warrants further investigation.
Case Report (n=1)
This case highlights a rare presentation of polycythemia with normal erythropoietin levels secondary to renal cell carcinoma, complicated by an incidental abdominal aortic aneurysm.
May warrant considering RCC in polycythemia with normal EPO; leaves open mechanistic and AAA associations.
A 61-year-old obese Caucasian male with past medical history of smoking, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and sleep apnea presented to the hematology clinic with polycythemia. Despite the newly-diagnosed polycythemia, the patient denied any significant symptoms or history of blood clots. Further evaluation with computerized tomography (CT) and ultrasound showed a large renal mass suspicious for renal cell carcinoma of the right kidney. An incidental abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) measuring was also appreciated on imaging. Subsequent histological sections of the tumor showed cell renal cell carcinoma. Though previously reported, the concomitant finding of an AAA with renal cell carcinoma with a normal erythropoietin levels is surprising. Given the surgical complications associated with concomitant conditions with renal cell carcinoma, further investigation into paraneoplastic syndromes secondary to renal cell carcinoma remains open to investigation.
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Kopel et al. (2019) conducted a case report in Polycythemia with Renal Cell Carcinoma (n=1). A 61-year-old male presented with polycythemia and was found to have renal cell carcinoma and an incidental abdominal aortic aneurysm despite normal erythropoietin levels.
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