Concentrations of cadmium and lead in renal cell cancer

The incidence of renal cancer increased during the 1980's in Finland. The influence of environmental factors on carcinogenesis has been discussed in recent years. We determined the concentrations of cadmium and lead in renal tissue in 13 renal cancer patients. The mean concentration of cadmium for women was 9430 micrograms/kg (range 3437-13,962 micrograms/kg) and for male patients 14,702 micrograms/kg (range 3263-21,272 micrograms/kg). The mean concentration of lead for women was 73 micrograms/kg (range 41-105 micrograms/kg) and for male patients 96 micrograms/kg (range 34-106 micrograms/kg). Our results showed that the mean concentrations of cadmium and lead were-low in the renal cortex of renal cell cancer patients.