People around 60 years of age living in urban areas are most at risk of developing kidney cancer. Men are 2 to 3 times more likely to get the disease than women.

Risk factors:

• Smoking;
• Obesity;
• Hypertension;
• Acquired cystic kidney disease;
• HCV;
• Exposure to toxic substances: cadmium, asbestos;
• Cytotoxic drugs and chemotherapy;

Renal cell carcinomas can be inherited and occur in familial cancer syndromes:

1. Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome - clear cell carcinoma;
2. Congenital papillary carcinoma of the kidney - type 1 papillary carcinoma;
3. Congenital smooth muscle cell carcinoma (leiomyomatosis) and renal cell carcinoma HLRCC- papillary carcinoma type 2;
4. Birt-Hogg-Dube syndrome-mostly chromophobe carcinoma;

photo ojoimages

WHO classification of renal tumours:

• Clear cell carcinoma- incidence: 75-85%;
• Multifocal (cystic) clear cell carcinoma- incidence: very rare;
• Papillary carcinoma- incidence: 10-15%;
• Chromophobe carcinoma- incidence: 10%;
• Bellini duct carcinoma - incidence: very rare;
• Renal medullary carcinoma - incidence: very rare;
• Carcinoma associated with Xp11 translocation - incidence: very rare;
• Mucinous tubular and spindle cell carcinoma - incidence: very rare;
• Carcinoma associated with embryonal neuroblastoma - incidence: very rare;
• Unclassified renal cell carcinoma - incidence: <10%.