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Genitourinary Oncology Program

Patient and Family Education

Kidney Cancer (Renal Cancer)

Risk Factors

The exact cause of kidney cancer is unknown. However, there are certain risk factors that are linked to it. These risk factors, according to the American Cancer Society, are as follows:

• Smoking, which doubles the risk of kidney cancer
  
  
• Exposure to asbestos, which studies show a link to kidney cancer
  
  
• Cadmium exposure -- cadmium may increase the cancer-causing effect of smoking.
  
  
• Family history of kidney cancer
  
  
• Gender -- men are twice as likely to get renal cell cancer as are women
  
  
• Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome -- a disease caused by a gene mutation
  
  
• Tuberous sclerosis -- people who have this disease are more likely to get renal cell cancer
  
  
• Diet -- a high-fat diet increases a person's risk of kidney cancer
  
  
• Weight/obesity
  
  
• Long-term dialysis -- patients who have been on dialysis for a long time may develop kidney cysts, one cause of renal cell cancer

This page was last updated on: October 6, 2009.

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