Risk Factors for Renal Cell Cancer: The Multiethnic Cohort

The association of body size, lifestyle, and medical conditions with renal cell cancer risk was examined among 161,126 Hawaii–Los Angeles Multiethnic Cohort participants (1993–2002). After 8.3 years of follow-up, 347 renal cell cancer cases (220 men, 127 women) were identified. Renal cell cancer risk increased with increasing body mass index in men (multivariate relative risk (RR) = 1.06 per unit of body mass index, p = 0.001) and women (RR = 1.07, p < 0.0001). The relative risks associated with being obese compared with being lean were 1.76 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.20, 2.58) for men and 2.27 (95% CI: 1.37, 3.74) for women. Hypertension was associated with renal cell cancer (RRmen = 1.42, 95% CI: 1.07, 1.87; RRwomen = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.09, 2.28). Smoking was confirmed to be a risk factor for both sexes. Among women, diuretic use was associated with increased risk (RR = 1.63, 95% CI: 1.04, 2.57), whereas physical activity was associated with reduced risk (ptrend = 0.027). Alcohol consumption was inversely associated with risk for men (ptrend = 0.045). Compared with nondrinkers, men who drank ≥1 drinks/day had a 31% lower risk (95% CI: 0.49, 0.96). Results show that body mass index, smoking, and hypertension are risk factors for renal cell cancer in both sexes.