Renal Cell Cancer Case-Control Study

This population-based case-control study was conducted in the metropolitan areas of Detroit and Chicago in collaboration with Wayne State University and the University of Illinois at Chicago. The investigators seek to evaluate risk factors for renal cell cancer and examine why rates of this disease are higher among Black adults, compared to White adults in the U.S.

Between 2002 and 2007, DCEG investigators interviewed and collected saliva and blood samples from 1,217 cases (856 White, 361 Black) and 1,235 controls (712 White, 523 Black). Tumor tissue blocks, diagnostic slides, and medical records were also collected from cases. Factors being evaluated include hypertension and other medical conditions, medication use, obesity, and weight fluctuation, cigarette smoking, occupational exposures, markers of genetic susceptibility, and several molecular markers in tumor tissue and peripheral blood.

Findings to date suggest that black-white differences in hypertension and chronic kidney disease might explain a substantial portion of the racial disparity in kidney cancer incidence.

For more information, contact Dr. Mark Purdue or Dr. Jonathan Hofmann.

Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch - Research Areas