A case-control study of risk factor for renal cell cancer in northern Italy

Abstract

A hospital-based case-control study of renal cell cancer was conducted in northern Italy between 1986 and 1989, with 240 cases of renal cell cancer (150 males and 90 females), and 665 controls (445 males and 220 females) chosen on the basis of age, sex, and area of residence. No associations were found between renal cell cancer and: body mass index (BMI); number of cigarettes smoked; age at starting to smoke; years of smoking; consumption of wine, beer, spirits, coffee, decaffeinated coffee; tea; intake of animal protein, fruits, and vegetables; various reproductive factors; hormonal use; sexual habits; sexually transmitted diseases; or selected occupational exposures. The odds ratio (OR) was above unity in smokers (OR = 1.34 for greater than or equal to 15 cigarettes/day), but the trends in risk with dose or duration were not statistically significant. Significant positive associations were found between renal cell cancer and sources of fat intake, especially margarine (OR for highest vs lowest intake = 1.71), and oils (OR = 1.89) whereas carrot intake showed a negative association (OR = 0.62). Also, a history of nephrolithiasis and multiple episodes of cystitis showed weak positive associations (OR = 2.00, 95 percent confidence interval (CI) 1.07-3.73; and OR = 1.60, 95 percent CI 0.95-2.70, respectively).

Obesity and renal cell cancer – a quantitative review

“…Only one of the 14 studies included in the summary analysis showed no association between BMI and risk of renal cell cancer (Talamini et al, 1990), while all the others indicated an increased risk among obese women. This positive association was significant in half of the studies (McLaughlin et al, 1984;Kreiger et al, 1993; Mellemgaard 0.90 0.95 1.00 1.05 1.10 1.15 1.20 1.25 1…”

“…Only one of the 14 studies included in the summary analysis showed no association between BMI and risk of renal cell cancer (Talamini et al, 1990), while all the others indicated an increased risk among obese women. This positive association was significant in half of the studies (McLaughlin et al, 1984;Kreiger et al, 1993 Talamini, 1990McLaughlin, 1992 McCredie, 1992 Benhamou, 1993Kreiger, 1993Hiatt, 1994Chow, 1996 Heath, 1997 Yuan, 1998 Summary relative risk Gamble, 1996Mellemgaard, 1995 Relative risk per unit of increase in BMI (95% CI) Figure 1 Results of the reanalyses and summary analysis of published studies on the association between body mass index (BMI) and renal cell cancer risk among men. Relative risk per unit of increase in BMI (1 kg m -2 ) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) From fixed effect model, as within-study variance was larger than between-study variance, P value under mixed-effect model was 1.0.…”

“…The relative risks and their 95% confidence intervals for BMI as a continuous variable in studies on men are shown in Figure 1, together with the summary estimate based on a random effects model. Of the 14 studies included in the summary analysis, all but one (Talamini et al, 1990) indicated a positive association with obesity, significant in all but 4 studies (McLaughlin et al, 1992;Kreiger et al, 1993;Hiatt et al, 1994;Chow et al, 1996). The summary relative risk for all male studies combined with a random effect model was 1.07 (95% CI 1.04-1.09) per unit of increase in BMI (1 kg m -2 ) ( Table 1).…”

“…All information was extracted separately for men and women. For one study, the results were not presented separately for men and women, but since crude sex-specific relative risks could be computed from the results presented in the article the study was included in the summary analysis (Talamini et al, 1990).…”

“…All information was extracted separately for men and women. For one study, the results were not presented separately for men and women, but since crude sex-specific relative risks could be computed from the results presented in the article the study was included in the summary analysis (Talamini et al, 1990).If the risk of renal cell cancer was expressed in more than one way, the estimate reflecting greatest degree of controlling for confounders was used. We considered age and smoking to be the most important confounding factors in the relation between obesity and renal cell cancer.…”