Long-term survival of a patient suffering from glioblastoma multiforme of the brain as well as kidney cancer diagnosed and treated simultaneously

Abstract

Primary tumors of the brain account for up to 2% of all malignant neoplasms. The average life expectancy for patients with malignant gliomas of the brain is 12. 6 months. Glioblastoma multiforme is the most common one. Most patients diagnosed with it die within the first two years after the date of diagnosis. Only 2% of all cases survive for more than 36 months. Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for 2–3% of all malignant neoplasms in adults. The incidence of RCC, at all levels of advancement, has increased in recent years, resulting in increased mortality. Average survival with this diagnosis is about 50% and depends on the severity of the disease. We present the case of a 62-year-old patient, who has survived for many years after radical treatment of glioblastoma multiforme of the brain. The patient was simultaneously diagnosed with kidney cancer. Before the final diagnosis was given, a detailed diagnostic process had been carried out at several medical institutions. The diagnostics were initiated as a result of an epileptic seizure that had occurred for the first time in the patient’s life. Radiological examination led to the suspicion of metastases to the brain as well as a tumor of the right kidney. The treatment started with surgery of the brain tumor. Afterward, radical removal of the right kidney was performed. After obtaining the final histopathological results from the brain tumor histopathological preparations were consulted in another city and medical center. Next, the patient received complementary radiotherapy to the site of tumor removal, combined with temozolomide and continuation of chemotherapy after irradiation was finished. The treatment of the kidney cancer was finalized with a surgery. To date, the patient has survived for more than six years without relapse or neoplastic dissemination, in very good general and neurological condition. The case analysis allows for identifying, in the patient, several prognostic factors of long-term survival, such as: the relatively young age of the patient when the disease was diagnosed, good general and neurological condition before treatment, small size of the tumor, radical surgical treatment, location of the tumor outside of the lateral ventricles, no contact of the tumor with the subventricular zone of the brain (SVZ), as well as the low HDL (high-density lipoprotein) and LDL (low-density lipoprotein) levels in biochemical blood tests before surgery of the brain tumor.