Incidence and characteristics of chronic renal replacement therapy in patients with cancer: data from kidney and cancer registries in Basse-Normandie

Aims To estimate the incidence of chronic dialysis in patients with a history of cancer and assess how renal replacement therapy is initiated in this population. Methods We merged data from cancer registries and hospital databases in one French region to identify patients with an incident cancer between 2001 and 2008 who started chronic dialysis. Results Mean participation time was 3.4 +/- 2.7 years. Males comprised 58.5 % of participants. During the study period, 74 chronic dialysis treatments were initiated. Chronic interstitial nephritis was the leading cause of end-stage renal disease (21.6 %), and 46.6 % of dialysis initiation cases were unplanned. The incidence rate of chronic dialysis initiation in the population of incident cancer patients was 370 per million population/year (74 events/199,809 person-years). After age-adjustment, the standardized incidence ratio was 1.26, 95 % confidence interval 0.98-1.57, p = 0.55. Conclusion Cancer patients are known to be at risk of chronic kidney disease. However, the standardized incidence ratio of chronic dialysis initiation did not differ significantly between cancer patients and the general population. Further studies should be performed to identify the barriers to starting renal replacement therapy in cancer patients.