A NEW test has allowed researchers to discover mild kidney disease is associated with an increased risk of developing and dying from cancer.
The University of Glasgow found by using a more sensitive test than is commonly used in the NHS that there are links between mild kidney disease and developing cancer.
The research which was published in the journal EClinicalMedicine, shows that the more sensitive ‘cystatin C’ test was able to identify a heightened risk of developing and dying from cancer in people with chronic kidney disease.
This heightened risk of developing and dying from cancer was not identified when kidney function is estimated using serum creatinine, the test most commonly used in healthcare
Dr Jennifer Lees said: “Our results show that mild kidney disease is clinically important in predicting cancer risk, as well as the risk of cardiovascular disease and early death.
“However, identifying this excess risk requires measurement of more sensitive markers of kidney dysfunction such as cystatin C. We were not able to see the same risk when using the less sensitive, but more routinely used serum creatinine test.”
Using data from the UK Biobank researchers were able to demonstrate that mild kidney disease is associated with a 4% increased risk of developing cancer and a 15% increased risk of dying from cancer.
In people with more advanced kidney disease, researchers found a 19% increased risk in developing cancer and a 48% increased risk in dying from cancer.
Chronic kidney disease, characterised by gradual loss of kidney function over time, affects around 10% of the population and cancer is already known to be more common in people with kidney failure.
