Trends in Incidence and Mortality of Kidney Cancer in a Northern Italian Province: An Update to 2020

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The aim of this work was to describe the trend of kidney tumors in a province of northern Italy through 25 years of registration. In the period examined, over 2300 patients with kidney cancer (mostly males of advanced age) and over 1200 deaths were registered, without differences between men and women but with significant age differences (12% among younger adults and 80% among the elderly). In men, we observed an increase in cases from 1996 to 2011, then the incidence decreased—probably in relation to the decline in cigarette smoking, which was also confirmed by the decline in lung cancers. Mortality decreased in both men and women, partly due to an earlier diagnosis of the disease and partly due to the availability of more advanced drugs that have made it possible to effectively treat the disease at a more advanced stage. In addition to the decrease in mortality from kidney cancer, we observed an increase in mortality from other causes, in particular from cardiovascular disease, which was also linked to the cardiotoxicity of some treatments. Therefore, along with early diagnosis and effective treatments, careful surveillance of cardiovascular episodes that may develop in these patients must be ensured. ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to examine the incidence and mortality trends for tumors and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in a province of northern Italy. The study included kidney cancers recorded in the period 1996–2020, divided by sex, age, year of incidence and years from diagnosis. The standardized incidence rate was calculated using the European population, and the Annual Percent Change (APC) was reported. In total, 2331 patients with kidney cancers were identified, mainly males (1504 cases) aged 60–79 years (1240 cases). There were 1257 deaths; there were no differences according sex but there were differences according to age (12.1% among younger adults and 80.4% among 80+). The incidence rate increased in males between 1996 and 2011 (APC = 2.3), while the mortality rate decreased in both males (APC = −3.3%) and females (APC = −4.5%). Comparing the same periods, kidney cancer-specific mortality decreased from 81.8% to 43.7%, while in the same period there was an increasing trend for CVD mortality. Moreover, the risk of CVD mortality increased as we moved away from the diagnosis (from 6.2% to 27.5%, p < 0.01). The same trend was observed for other causes of death (from 12.6% to 32.1%, p < 0.01). Thus, a multidisciplinary approach seems necessary during the follow-up and treatments of patients with kidney cancer.