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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 October 2016
Transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the renal pelvis is a rare urological malignancy, with only a handful of cases of metastases to the brain reported in literature. We aim to present a case of intracranial metastasis in a female patient with history of renal pelvic carcinoma, and review existing literature of brain metastases from renal pelvic TCC. Methods: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, and MEDLINE from 1966 to January 2016 for published case reports written in English. Results: Five published case reports describe intracranial metastases from renal pelvic TCC. Our case is a 56-year-old woman with known high grade renal pelvic carcinoma and pulmonary metastases, who presented nine years after her initial diagnosis with mild left side weakness and headaches. She was found to have two lesions in the right cerebral hemisphere and underwent surgical resection of the larger right frontal lobe mass. Her neurologic symptoms improved postoperatively. She declined whole brain radiotherapy and remains stable at 6 months’ follow-up. This is the first published case of presentation of brain metastases from pelvic TCC more than 12 months after diagnosis of the primary cancer. Conclusion: There is minimal literature of renal pelvic TCC metastasizing to the brain. However, as systemic chemotherapy leads to improved survival from the primary cancer, it is possible for more cases to appear, necessitating increased awareness from the healthcare team.