End Stage and Chronic Kidney Disease: Associations with Renal Cancer

There is a well known association between end stage renal disease and the development of kidney cancer in the native kidney of patients requiring renal replacement therapy. There is now emerging evidence that lesser degrees of renal insufficiency (chronic kidney disease, CKD) are also associated with an increased likelihood of cancer in general and kidney cancer in particular. Nephropathological changes are commonly observed in the non-tumor bearing portions of kidney resected at the time of partial and radical nephrectomy (RN). In addition, patients with renal cancer are more likely to have CKD at the time of diagnosis and treatment than the general population. The exact mechanism by which renal insufficiency transforms normal kidney cells into tumor cells is not known. Possible mechanisms include uremic immune inhibition or increased exposure to circulating toxins not adequately cleared by the kidneys. Surgeons managing kidney tumors must have an increased awareness of their patient’s renal functional status as they plan their resection. Kidney sparing approaches, including partial nephrectomy (PN) or active surveillance in older and morbidly ill patients, can prevent CKD or delay the further decline in renal function which is well documented with RN. Despite emerging evidence that PN provides equivalent local tumor control to RN while at the same time preventing CKD, this operation remains under utilized in the United States and abroad. Increased awareness of the bi directional relationship between kidney function and kidney cancer is essential in the contemporary management of kidney cancer.