Late solitary metastasis of renal cell carcinoma to the submandibular gland

Metastatic renal cell carcinoma to the head and neck is rare. Most reported cases of metastases to the head and neck involve the thyroid and parotid glands. Metastasis to other salivary glands is exceedingly rare. This report describes a case of a solitary metastasis of renal cell carcinoma to the submandibular gland 9 years after nephrectomy. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first case successfully diagnosed preoperatively using a combination of fine-needle aspiration and clinical history. The patient subsequently underwent a submandibular gland resection with preservation of the facial nerve branches. For the 3 years since resection of the submandibular gland, the patient has been free of disease.