Polycystic Kidney Disease Tied to Increased Risk for Kidney, Gastric Cancers

By Amy Orciari Herman

Edited by Susan Sadoughi, MD, and André Sofair, MD, MPH

Adults with polycystic kidneys may have increased risk for multiple cancers, regardless of kidney function, suggests a Lancet Oncology study.

Using a Taiwanese health insurance database, researchers matched over 4300 adults with polycystic kidney disease to 4300 controls without it. Adults with histories of cancer, chronic kidney disease, or end-stage renal disease were excluded.

During roughly 4–5 years' follow-up, the incidence of any cancer was 20 per 1000 person-years among those with polycystic kidneys versus 11 per 1000 among controls. After full multivariable adjustment, risks were significantly increased for cancers of the kidneys (hazard ratio, 2.5), colon (HR, 1.6), and liver (HR, 1.5).

Commentators say that “knowledge of the potential that there might be an excess cancer risk in early polycystic kidney disease should be widely known.” However, “there is insufficient evidence ... to embark on kidney, liver, and bowel screening programmes for patients with polycystic kidney disease, other than those already used in the general population.”