World Kidney Cancer Day 2024 is an important day dedicated to raising awareness and promoting early detection and treatment of kidney cancer. On this day, individuals, organizations and health professionals around the world come together to educate the public about the risk factors, symptoms and treatment options of kidney cancer.
What is kidney cancer?
Kidney cancer is a serious condition and understanding your risk factors can help you avoid developing it. According to Dr Sashi Kiran A, Consultant Nephrologist, Yashoda Hospitals, Hyderabad, renal cell carcinomas (RCC), which originate in the cortex, are the most common variety (85%), the other common one being transitional cells (8%). .
Globally, these tumors are most common in North America. The annual incidence of these tumors in India is approximately 17,000 and their five-year prevalence is 2.84/100,000 inhabitants.
These are the seven common risk factors associated with kidney cancer:
- Smoking: Smokers have the highest risk of developing CRC. The risk is proportional to the intensity and duration of smoking.
- Hypertension: Although the underlying biological mechanisms linking high blood pressure to CRC are largely unknown, there is sufficient evidence to suggest that hypertension predisposes to CRC.
- Obesity: Excess body weight is associated with CRC. For overweight patients with newly diagnosed CRC, the disease tends to be mild.
- Occupational exposure: Exposure to cadmium, asbestos, and petroleum products increases the risk of developing CRC.
- Analgesics: Prolonged ingestion of combination analgesics containing phenacetin and aspirin can cause chronic kidney disease, which in turn increases the risk of developing pelvic and renal urothelial tumors.
- Chronic hepatitis C infection: the transmission of the hepatitis C virus is through blood or sexual activity. Therefore, people with high-risk behaviors are more likely to develop CRC.
- Diabetes mellitus: There is a modest increase in the risk of developing CRC in patients with diabetes, although this association is not strong.
It should be emphasized that having a risk factor does not guarantee kidney cancer, but awareness can help people choose a healthy lifestyle.
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