The lifetime risk for kidney cancer is approximately 1 in 63 (1.6%), and the risk is approximately 2-3 times higher in men than in women.
Other risk factors include obesity, smoking, exposure to industrial agents containing cadmium, hypertension, dialysis for kidney failure and a family history of kidney cancer.
Inherited kidney cancers comprise just 5% of all kidney cancers.
von Hippel-Lindau syndrome
- A mutation in the VHL gene leads to a greater risk for developing renal cell carcinoma, especially at an earlier age.
- There is also risk for benign tumors in the eyes, brain, spinal cord, pancreas and other organs.
- In addition, there is a greater risk for pheochromocytoma, a type of adrenal gland tumor.
Hereditary papillary renal cell carcinoma
- A mutation in the MET gene is associated with papillary renal cell carcinoma.
Hereditary leiomyoma-renal cell carcinoma
- Mutations in the FH gene are associated with smooth muscle tumors (fibroids) of the skin and uterus in women, and an increased risk for papillary renal cell carcinoma.
Birt-Hogg-Dube (BHD) syndrome
- Mutations of the FLCN gene is associated with benign kidney tumors (oncocytoma) and renal cell carcinoma.
- In addition, it is associated with skin tumors, particularly on the face, neck, and upper chest and cysts in the lungs.
Would you like an appointment?
To request an appointment, please call our office at 646-962-6363. Our phone staff are available to help you Monday-Friday, from 9AM-5PM (EST).
You can find the office contact information for each physician specializing in Kidney Cancer by visiting their profile listed on the bottom of this webpage.
If you'd like to learn more about our providers that specialize in Kidney Cancer, please review the Physicians & Faculty profiles listed at the bottom of this page.
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