Overview

• The authors project a potential doubling of global kidney cancer incidence by 2050 if current trends in obesity, smoking, inactivity, diabetes, and hypertension persist.
• In 2022, registries recorded roughly 435,000 new cases and 156,000 deaths worldwide.
• More than half of cases are attributed to preventable exposures, pointing to risk reduction through weight control, blood pressure and blood sugar management, and smoking cessation.
• Five-year survival varies from about 40% to 75% across regions, reflecting differences in early detection and access to surgery, systemic therapies, and radiation.
• An estimated 5%–8% of cases arise from hereditary syndromes, prompting genetic testing in early-onset, bilateral, or familial disease, with Fox Chase Cancer Center among the contributors to the review.