Rhus verniciflua Stokes extract as a potential option for treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma: report of two cases.

A 50-year-old man presented with hematuria in July 2006. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan revealed a 12-cm right renal mass, and a right radical nephrectomy was carried out. Pathologic study revealed the clear cell type of renal cell carcinoma (RCC; Fuhrman grade II). Four months after nephrectomy, a chest CT revealed multiple pulmonary nodules (Figure 1A). With a clinical diagnosis of unresectable metastatic RCC, immunotherapy was recommended, but he refused. Instead, treatment with aRVS extract 450-mg capsules orally three times a day was initiated in December 2006 after his informed consent. After 4 months of treatment, CT scan showed a complete response in all pulmonary metastases including resolution of right pulmonary artery thrombosis (Figure 1B). Follow-up CT scans continued to demonstrate a complete response, which has lasted over 31 months since the initiation of aRVS therapy.