Intramedullary spinal cord metastasis of renal cell carcinoma 6 years following the nephrectomy.

Intramedullary spinal cord metastasis is an uncommon manifestation of systemic tumor. We present a case of metastatic mass inside the thoracic spinal cord 6 years after nephrectomy because of renal cell carcinoma. The parenchymal lesion was resected totally and the histologic examination confirmed it as renal cell carcinoma metastasis. The patient's neurological function improved apparently until the intramedullary spinal cord metastasis recurred in situ later. The case shows that renal cell carcinoma has the possibility of metastasis into spinal cord even several years after nephrectomy. Any symptom of neurological deficit should alert to a possible intramedullary spinal cord metastasis.