Nephrolithiasis-Associated Renal Cell Carcinoma in Patients Who Underwent Nephrectomy: A Single-Center Experience

Background: Kidney stones (nephrolithiasis) affect around 5% of the world's population. Some medical disorders, like obesity or diabetes, have increased the incidence and prevalence of nephrolithiasis. In addition, chronic inflammation and infection are frequently linked to kidney stone formation. Urothelial cell proliferation may change as a result of chronic inflammation, tumors will therefore develop as a result of this. The correlation between nephrolithiasis and renal cell cancer can also be explained by shared risk factors. At Adam Malik General Hospital, we strive to identify the risk factor for stone-induced renal cell cancer.

Methods: This study was carried out at Adam Malik General Hospital by collecting medical record reports from patients who had nephrectomy for nephrolithiasis between July 2014 and August 2020. A variety of information was obtained, including identification, smoking status, body mass index (BMI), hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and nephrolithiasis history. The histopathological examination of cancer patients was used to determine adjusted odds ratios (ORs) both separately and in combination with other variables. Age, smoking status, BMI, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus all influenced the OR. The single variable was examined using Chi-square test, and the multivariate analysis was carried out using linear regression.

Results: A total of 84 patients who underwent nephrectomy due to nephrolithiasis were included in the study, with an average age of 48.77 ± 7.23 years old; 48 (60%) of those were aged < 55 years old. In this study, 52 male patients (63.4%) and 16 patients (20%) were found to have renal cell carcinoma. Univariate analysis showed that the OR of patients with familial history of cancer was 4.5 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.17 - 19.8), and the OR for smokers was 1.54 (95% CI 1.42 - 1.68). Similar results were shown in patients with hypertension and urinary tract infections due to stones. Nephrolithiasis patients with hypertension were 2.56 (95% CI 1.075 - 6.106) times more likely to develop a malignancy, while patients who had an infection due to a urinary tract stone were 2.85 (95% CI 1.37 - 5.92) times more likely to develop renal cell carcinoma compared to its counterpart. Both have a P-value of less than 0.05. Contrarily, alcoholism and frequent nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) user results were different. Both have a P-value of 0.264 and 0.07, respectively. Furthermore, diabetes mellitus type 2 and BMI over 25 are not statistically significant, with a P-value of 0.341 and 0.12, respectively. In multivariable-adjusted analyses, participants with a family history of cancer and recurrent urinary tract infection due to urinary tract stones had a statistically significant increase in overall renal cell carcinoma risk (hazard ratio (HR): 1.39, 95% CI 1.05 - 1.84 and HR: 1.12, 95% CI 1.05 - 1.34).

Conclusion: Kidney stone and renal cell carcinoma are significantly correlated due to recurrent urinary tract infection and familial history of cancer, which increases renal cell carcinoma risk.