RCC accounts for about 2 – 3 % of all cancer.
Annual increase in incidence over the last 20 years, which is now slowing.
RCC accounts for 85 – 90 % of all malignancies of the kidney.
Typically presents in 6th and 7th decade, although may present younger (30s and 40s) in familial cases.
Risk factors
- Male > female (1.5 : 1)
- Obesity
- Hypertension
- Smoking
- First-degree relative
- Familial syndromes
- End stage renal disease
Pathogenesis
95 % are sporadic.
Clear cell and papillary RCC arise from the proximal convoluted tubules.
Chromophobe and collecting duct RCC typically arise more distally in the nephron.
RCC is a heterogenous disease, with different pathological and clinical manifestations, ranging from indolent to aggressive.