Painless pulsatile mass as first presentation of renal cell carcinoma

Renal cell carcinoma rarely presents with typical features of abdominal pain, flank mass and haematuria, and up to 30% of patients present with metastases. We present the case of an 81 year old man who presented with a painless, pulsatile sternal metastasis as an initial presentation of renal cell carcinoma. This case highlights the importance of recognizing even unusual presentations of renal cell carcinoma, and that although sternal metastases are rare, when they do occur there should be a low threshold for ruling out renal cell carcinoma.-------------------------------Cite this article as: Hoyland K, Vasdev N, Nathan P, Hanbury D. Painless pulsatile mass as first presentation of renal cell carcinoma. Int J Cancer Ther Oncol 2014; 2(3):02036. DOI: 10.14319/ijcto.0203.