Kidney cancer in Saudi Arabia: A 25-year analysis of epidemiology and risk factors in a tertiary center

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate available epidemiological data and risk factors for kidney cancer in a tertiary care center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, over a period of 25 years. METHODS: This retrospective study conducted in a tertiary care center included all adult patients with primary kidney cancer who presented and were managed between 1990 and 2015. Based on this information, we forecast the incidence of the disease in our center over the next 5 years (2016 to 2020). RESULTS: In total, 371 patients were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 56.3 years and the majority were male (61%). Among the patients, 55.8% were diagnosed incidentally. At the time of diagnosis, 53.2% were hypertensive, 46.2% were diabetic, 39.1% had dyslipidemia, and 25% were smokers. In addition, most patients were obese (42.3%) or overweight (30%). The most frequent histopathological variants were clear cell and chromophobe. Most patients presented with Stage 1. Minimally invasive surgery (laparoscopic, robotic) was performed in 55% of cases. Based on these data, we predicted that 172 new cases will present at our tertiary care center in 5 years from 2016 to 2020. CONCLUSION: The incidence in kidney cancer is increasing and is associated with an alarming increase in the prevalence of associated risk factors.