Kidney Cancer Association

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication in cancer patients and occurs in up to 30% of patients during their disease course. Multiple myeloma, leukemia/lymphoma, renal cell carcinoma, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation are commonly associated with the development of AKI.

While studying two rare inherited cancer syndromes, Yale Cancer Center (YCC) scientists have found the cancers are driven by a breakdown in how cells repair their DNA.

The discovery, published in Nature Genetics, suggests a promising strategy for treatment with drugs recently approved for other forms of cancer, said the researchers.

The two conditions -- called Hereditary Leiomyomatosis and Renal Cell Cancer (HLRCC) and Succinate Dehydrogenase-related Hereditary Paraganglioma and Pheochromocytoma (SDH PGL/PCC) -- boost the risk of tumours that may be benign or cancerous.