ABSTRACT
Renal malignancy is common and is rapidly increasing in incidence. It accounts for 2.5% of malignancies and is ranked ninth in incidence for men and twelfth for women in the UK. Furthermore, its incidence has almost doubled in the past 20 years. The reasons for this rapid increase in incidence are unclear, but epidemiological evidence has shown correlations with tobacco smoking, obesity, and hypertension. Worldwide it is a significant healthcare problem, particularly in industrialized countries, including eastern Europe, but high incidence rates are also recorded in Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil. The UK has an annual rate of 11-12/100 000 of population/year and, therefore, a little over 6000 new cases/year.
