Source: DGNews  |  Posted 2 years ago

DETROIT -- April 7, 2010 -- Physicians at Henry Ford Hospital have found that infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) increases the risk for developing renal cancer. The study was published in this month’s Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Using administrative data from more than 67,000 Henry Ford Health System patients, the researchers found that over the period 1997 to 2008, 0.6% (17/3057) of patients with HCV developed renal cancer whereas only 0.3% (17/64006) of patients without the disease developed renal cancer.

After controlling for age, gender, race and underlying kidney disease, patients with HCV had nearly double the risk of developing renal cancer.

“These results add to growing literature that shows that the hepatitis C virus causes disease that extends beyond the liver, and in fact most of our HCV-infected kidney cancer patients had only minimal liver damage,” said lead author Stuart C. Gordon, MD, Department of Hepatology, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan.

Dr. Gordon explained that the results suggest a more careful surveillance of newly diagnosed renal cancer patients for the presence of HCV, one of the few cancers with a rising global incidence.

He added that it is premature to recommend more comprehensive screening of HCV-positive patients.

“However, a heightened awareness of an increased kidney cancer risk should dictate more careful follow-up of incidental renal defects when detected on imaging procedures in patients with chronic hepatitis C,” said Dr. Gordon.

The researchers also found that the average age of HCV-positive patients with renal cancer was significantly younger than those HCV-negative patients with renal cancer, a cancer that generally affects older individuals.

SOURCE: Henry Ford Health System