BMI and the risk of renal cell carcinoma

Purpose of review Incidence of obesity and renal cell carcinoma (RCC) are increasing, and RCC remains a lethal disease if not identified at an early stage. There is an increasing body of evidence linking obesity to the risk of developing RCC. Recent findings There is a wealth of epidemiological evidence supporting a higher risk of developing RCC in obese individuals, and in a dose-response manner. This is particularly pertinent in the development of the clear cell subtype (ccRCC), in which there appears to be a special interplay between ccRCC, obesity and von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) gene defects, driving the proangiogenic/proliferative pathway as a result of metabolites produced by adipose tissue, the epigenetic silencing of a tumour suppressor in close proximity to the VHL gene, hypoxia, obesity-related hypertension, lipid peroxidation and increased insulin-like growth factor-1. Summary Obesity-related diseases, including cancers, are increasing. There are many complex biomolecular pathways interacting in obesity, especially in ccRCC in which there appears to be a specific interplay in VHL mutations.