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Resume Introduction Le cadmium est une substance cancerogene connue impliquee dans des neoplasies bronchiques et prostatiques. C'est aussi un produit nephrotoxique et sa responsabilite dans la survenue de cancers de rein a ete suspectee mais tres peu de cas etayant cette hypothese ont ete publies dans la litterature. Exegese Nous rapportons l'observation d'une femme de 59 ans soumise pendant 30 ans a une exposition professionnelle au cadmium. Elle a presente un carcinome epidermoide du rein et les dosages plasmatiques du cadmium effectues alors ont confirme l'existence d'une contamination chronique puis, 3 ans plus tard, un cancer bronchique. Conclusion La notion d'une exposition prolongee au cadmium, sa nephrotoxicite, la rarete des cancers epidermoides du rein et la survenue d'un autre cancer induit nous ont fait retenir la responsabilite de cette substance dans la neoplasie renale de notre malade. Cette hypothese a ete admise par la Commission de reconnaissance des maladies professionnelles.

Cadmium is a carcinogenic substance and bronchial and prostatic cancer may be readily identified as professional diseases. It is also a nephrotoxic substance but renal carcinoma are rarely imputed to this kind of intoxication.We report the observation of a 59-year-old woman with a long unprotected professional exposure to cadmium. She developed an epidermoid carcinoma of the kidney and later of the lung. Levels of cadmium in blood samples were abnormally high, confirming the existence of a chronic impregnation.We have judged cadmium to be responsible for her renal disease: the fact of a long unprotected professional exposure, the scarcity of renal epidermoid carcinoma, the well established nephrotoxicity of this substance and the association with other cancers, appear to us as convincing evidence, and the kidney cancer of our patient has been considered a professional disease.