Family history is significant in kidney cancer risk

Based on the relative risk to siblings, 80% of kidney cancer cases are likely to occur in 20% of the population with the highest genetic risk, indicating the importance of further investigation of genetic factors in cancer prevention, according to a European multicenter, case-control study.

Paul Brennan, PhD, of the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, working with colleagues from the National Cancer Institute and others, investigated the role of family history in first-degree relatives. A total number of 1,097 cases of kidney cancer and 1,555 controls were recruited from 2000 to 2003 from seven centers in the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, and Russia.

The team found that the risk of kidney cancer increased with the increasing number of relatives with history of any cancer (odds ratio, 1.15; 95% CI), and this association seemed to be more prominent among subjects with young onset (odds ratio, 1.55; 95% CI). Overall, the odds ratio was 1.40 (95% CI) for the subjects who had at least one first-degree relative with kidney cancer after adjusting for tobacco smoking, body mass index, and medical history of hypertension, and this association was most apparent among subjects with affected siblings [odds ratio, 4.09; 95% CI (Cancer Epidemiol BiomarkersPrev 2007; 16:1287–90)].