Family history of cancer and renal cell cancer risk in Caucasians and African Americans

Abstract

Background:The association between renal cell carcinoma (RCC) risk and family history of cancer has not been examined with an adequate number of African Americans (AAs).Methods:In a population-based case-control study, unconditional logistic regression was used to calculate the association between RCC risk and a family history of cancer among 1217 RCC cases and 1235 controls.Results:Increased RCC risk was shown for subjects with at least one first-degree relative with kidney cancer (odds ratio2.29; 95% confidence interval1.31-4.00). No differences in risk were observed when analyses were stratified by race. For Caucasians, excess risk was observed among those reporting a sibling with kidney cancer, whereas for AAs, increased risk occurred among subjects reporting either a sibling or parent affected with the disease. A family history of non-renal cancers, and those related to smoking or to the von Hippel-Lindau syndrome, revealed no association with RCC risk.Conclusion:The RCC risk associated with a family history of kidney cancer is similar among Caucasians and AAs. © 2010 Cancer Research UK All rights reserved.