Risk of malignancy in patients with chronic kidney disease.

BackgroundFifteen percent of US adults have chronic kidney disease (CKD). The effect of CKD on the development of different malignancies is unknown. Understanding the effect of CKD on the risk of development of cancer could have important implications for screening and early detection of cancer in these patients.MethodsAdult CKD patients [estimated GFR (eGFR) ResultsOf the 13,750 patients with a diagnosis of CKD in this cohort, 2,758 (20.1%) developed a malignancy. The median time to development of cancer following a diagnosis of CKD was 8.5 years. Factors associated with the risk of developing cancer in CKD patients included increasing age, male sex and worsening chronic kidney disease, while diabetes was associated with a lower risk of malignancy. On multivariate analysis, the factors associated with increased mortality in patients who developed cancer included increasing age, diabetes and lower eGFR.ConclusionCKD is an increased risk factor for the development of various malignancies. Age appropriate cancer screening should be aggressively pursued in those with progressive CKD.