Dr. Feldman on Link Between Obesity and Risk for RCC

Adam S. Feldman, MD, MPH, urologist, Department of Urology, Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses the association between obesity and the risk of developing total and fatal renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

In a study, researchers examined obesity to determine if it was a risk factor for developing RCC, as well as fatal RCC. This has been debatable in previous studies, Feldman explains, as obesity was not found to be a risk factor for developing the disease. However, researchers used longitudinal data of patients’ BMI to calculate their risk for obesity.

It was found that obesity is a risk factor for RCC. Results also suggested that obesity is adversely associated with risk of fatal RCC, though these data were not statistically significant.