Long-term occupational lead exposure, chronic nephropathy, and renal cancer: a case report

The case of a 61-year-old male with repeated episodes of overt clinical lead poisoning and courses of chelation therapy during his 34 years of employment in a secondary lead smelter is presented. Renal function impairment with elevated serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen and with markedly reduced glomerular filtration rate was detected several years before the discovery of a clear cell adenocarcinoma of the right kidney. After successful surgical removal of the tumor, the patient's renal function continued its previous trend of slow deterioration.