World Kidney Cancer Day 2024 is an important day dedicated to raising awareness about kidney cancer and promoting early detection and treatment. On this day, individuals, organizations, and healthcare professionals around the world come together to educate people about the risk factors, symptoms, and treatment options for kidney cancer.
What is kidney cancer?
Kidney cancer is a serious condition and understanding the risk factors can help you avoid it. According to Dr Shashi Kiran A, consultant nephrologist at Yashoda Hospitals, Hyderabad, renal cell carcinoma (RCC), which arises in the cortex, is the most common type (85%), the second common type being transitional cell carcinoma (8%).
Globally, these tumors are more common in North America. In India, the annual incidence of these tumors is approximately 17,000 and their 5-year prevalence is 2.84/100,000 population.
Here are seven common risk factors associated with kidney cancer:
- Smoking: Smokers have the greatest risk of developing RCC. This risk is proportional to the intensity and duration of smoking.
- Hypertension: Although the underlying biological mechanisms linking hypertension to RCC are largely unknown, there is sufficient evidence to suggest that hypertension predisposes to RCC.
- Obesity: Excessive body weight is associated with RCC. Patients who are overweight and newly diagnosed with RCC tend to have milder disease.
- Occupational exposure: Exposure to cadmium, asbestos, and petroleum products increases the risk of developing RCC.
- Painkillers: Long-term use of a combination of painkillers containing phenacetin and aspirin may cause chronic kidney disease, resulting in an increased risk of developing renal pelvic and urothelial tumors.
- Chronic hepatitis C infection: The hepatitis C virus is transmitted through blood or sexual activity. Therefore, people with high-risk behaviors are at higher risk of developing RCC.
- Diabetes: Patients with diabetes have a slight increase in the risk of developing RCC, although this association is not strong.
It must be emphasized that having a risk factor is not a guarantee of kidney cancer, but awareness can help people make healthy lifestyle choices.
Also read: When is World Kidney Cancer Day 2024? Know more about the causes, symptoms, and treatment of this deadly disease