Several environmental exposures or characteristics can increase the risk of developing urologic cancers. Keep in mind that not everyone with one of these risk factors will develop urologic cancer, and not everyone with urologic cancer will have one of these risk factors.
- Age. Bladder cancer, kidney cancer, and prostate cancer are most often found in older men. Testicular cancer occurs most often in younger men, between the ages of 15 and 34.
- Dialysis. People who receive dialysis (a treatment to filter wastes out of the blood when the kidneys aren’t working properly) are at higher risk for kidney cancer.
- Diet. A diet heavy in fried meats and fat increases risk of bladder cancer. Men who eat a diet high in red meat or high-fat dairy products and low in fruits and vegetables have a higher risk of prostate cancer.
- Family history. Having a father or brother with prostate cancer more than doubles a man’s risk for prostate cancer. If your father or sibling had testicular cancer, you are at increased risk for getting it. People with a family history of kidney cancer are at increased risk for kidney cancer, with the risk being greater if the family member was a brother or sister.
- Gender. Bladder cancer and kidney cancer are more common in men than in women. Prostate cancer and testicular cancer occur only in men.
- Gene mutations. A very small number of prostate cancer cases are caused by inherited mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, which in women increase the risk for breast and ovarian cancer.
- High blood pressure. People with high blood pressure are at greater risk for kidney cancer.
- Inherited conditions. Certain genetic conditions can increase risk of kidney cancer, including:
- Birt-Hogg-Dube (BHD) syndrome
- Hereditary leiomyoma-renal cell carcinoma
- Hereditary papillary renal cell carcinoma
- Hereditary renal oncocytoma
- von Hippel-Lindau disease
- Obesity. People who are very obese have an increased risk of kidney cancer, possibly because increased hormone levels lead to changes that cause cancer.
- Personal history of undescended testicle or abnormal development of the testicle. Men with these conditions are at increased risk for testicular cancer.
- Personal history of testicular cancer. If you have had testicular cancer in the past, you are at increased risk for getting it again.
- Phenacetin. The non-prescription pain reliever phenacetin, which was once very popular, has been linked to kidney cancer. This medication has not been sold in the United States for 20 years.
- Race and ethnicity. White people are more likely to get bladder cancer and testicular cancer than people of other races. Prostate cancer is more common in African-Americans, and it is more common in certain regions of the world, including North America, northwestern Europe, Australia, and the Caribbean Islands. African-Americans have a slightly higher risk of kidney cancer than white people.
- Smoking cigarettes. Cigarette smoking increases the risk of bladder cancer and kidney cancer. For kidney cancer, the risk increase goes down after you quit smoking.
- Workplace exposures. Being exposed to rubber, dyes, textiles, paint, or hairdressing supplies can increase risk of bladder cancer. People exposed to certain chemicals in the workplace are at increased risk for kidney cancer. These chemicals include asbestos, benzene, cadmium, herbicides, and solvents such as trichloroethylene.
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