Studies have shown that certain lifestyle factors can increase the risk of developing kidney tumors. Smoking, having high blood pressure, eating a high-fat diet, and being overweight all may contribute to an increased risk of kidney cancer.
Although we do not know all the causes of kidney cancer, the following factors can also increase the risk of developing this disease:
- long-term dialysis, a process in which a machine filters the blood of a person without functioning kidneys
- exposure to asbestos, such as occupational exposure
- exposure to cadmium, a metal that can increase the cancer-causing effect of smoking
- a family history of kidney cancer
- von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease, a syndrome caused by a genetic mutation that leads to multiple tumors in the kidney, often at an early age, and may also include brain and eye hemangiomas, pancreas cysts, and adrenal tumors
- Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome (BHD), an inherited skin disease affecting the hair follicles and associated with kidney tumors and air pockets in the lungs
- hereditary papillary renal carcinoma (HPRC), an inherited form of kidney cancer characterized by papillary renal cancer in younger patients, which are typically multiple and bilateral (in both kidneys)
- hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell carcinoma (HLRCC), an extremely rare inherited genetic mutation in which affected individuals may have skin bumps, women often have large fibroids of the uterus that cause severe menstrual bleeding, and men and women are at risk for aggressive forms of kidney cancer
- tuberous sclerosis, a disease characterized by severe skin bumps, seizures, mental retardation, and cysts in the kidneys, liver, and pancreas
If you are exposed to asbestos or cadmium at work, be sure to follow occupational safety practices that limit your exposure.
