Most kidney cancers don't run in families and happen by chance. They are called sporadic cancers. But, a small proportion of people with kidney cancer have inherited a tendency to develop the cancer.
About 4 in a 100 people with kidney cancer have at least two relatives on the same side of the family who have also been affected with it. This is called a family history of kidney cancer and may be a sign of a faulty gene in the family. Other signs that a kidney cancer may be due to an inherited faulty gene include:
- both kidneys being affected by cancer
- having several tumours in each kidney
- developing kidney cancer at a younger age than usual.
There are a few rare inherited conditions that can increase the risk of developing kidney cancer. Some of these conditions also cause other health problems, so families are often aware of the condition even before a kidney cancer is diagnosed. The conditions include:
- von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL)
- familial non-VHL clear-cell renal cancer
- hereditary papillary renal cell carcinoma
- tuberous sclerosis complex
- Birt-Hogg-Dube syndrome (BHDS)
- hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC).
VHL is a rare condition that can cause tumours in the skin, brain, eyes and pancreas as well as in the kidney. Tuberous sclerosis complex can cause skin, brain and heart problems as well as kidney problems. Birt-Hogg-Dube syndrome causes non cancerous tumours in the skin as well as kidney diseases.
HNPCC is most commonly linked to bowel (colon) cancer. But in some families kidney cancer can occur as well. Bowel cancer is a very common cancer, so if you have an elderly relative with bowel cancer and one with kidney cancer this would usually be due to chance and not to an inherited HNPCC mutation in your family.
In most people (about 96 out of 100) kidney cancer is not due to an inherited gene for kidney cancer. But, if you are concerned there may be a faulty gene in your family your GP can discuss this with you and refer you to a family cancer clinic if appropriate.