Association of kidney function with cancer incidence and its influence on cancer risk of smoking: The Japan Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort Study

The association between kidney function and cancer incidence is inconsistent among previous reports, and data on the Japanese population are lacking. It is unknown whether kidney function modifies the cancer risk of other factors. We aimed to evaluate the association of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) with cancer incidence and mortality in 55 242 participants (median age, 57 years; 55% women) from the Japan Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort Study. We also investigated differences in cancer risk factors between individuals with and without kidney dysfunction. During a median 9.3-year follow-up period, 4278 (7.7%) subjects developed cancer. Moderately low and high eGFRs were associated with higher cancer incidence; compared with eGFR of 60-74 ml/min/1.73 m(2), the adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) (95% confidence intervals [CIs]) for eGFRs of = 90, 75-89, 45-59, 30-44 and 10-29 ml/min/1.73 m(2) were 1.18 (1.07-1.29), 1.09 (1.01-1.17), 0.93 (0.83-1.04), 1.36 (1.00-1.84) and 1.12 (0.55-2.26), respectively. High eGFR was associated with higher cancer mortality, while low eGFR was not; the adjusted subdistribution HRs (95% CIs) for eGFRs of = 90 and 75-89 ml/min/1.73 m(2) were 1.58 (1.29-1.94) and 1.27 (1.08-1.50), respectively. Subgroup analyses of participants with eGFRs = 60 and <60 ml/min/1.73 m(2) revealed elevated cancer risks of smoking and family history of cancer in those with eGFR <60 ml/min/1.73 m(2), with significant interactions. Our findings suggest that the relationship between eGFR and cancer incidence was U-shaped. Only high eGFR was associated with cancer mortality. Kidney dysfunction enhanced cancer risk from smoking.