Epidemiology and Risk Factors for Kidney Cancer

The purpose of this narrative review is to summarize evidence of the epidemiology of and risk factors for kidney cancer with a focus on renal cell carcinoma in adults. The etiology of kidney cancer is largely unknown and the main epidemiologic determinants are large geographic and temporal variations in incidence rates. Established risk factors include tobacco smoking, body size, and history of hypertension and chronic kidney disease. Other suspected risk factors require additional investigation, as do the underlying biologic mechanisms that are responsible for disease occurrence. Opportunities to prevent kidney cancer include targeting modifiable risk factors-for example, smoking abstinence/cessation and body weight control-as well as interventions along the diagnostic pathway to improve early diagnosis. Molecular epidemiology, including, but not limited to, metabolomics and tumor genomics, are new areas of research that promise to play important roles in identifying some of the underlying causes of kidney cancer.