Wilding S, Wu HHL, Brown N, Chinnadurai R. Anti-nuclear cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis and kidney cancer: A mini review. World J Nephrol 2025; 14(2): 105166 [DOI: 10.5527/wjn.v14.i2.105166]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Henry H L Wu, Renal Research, Kolling Institute of Medical Research, Royal North Shore Hospital and The University of Sydney, Reserve Road, St. Leonards (Sydney), Sydney 2065, Australia. henrywu96@yahoo.com
Research Domain of This Article
Urology & Nephrology
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Nephrol. Jun 25, 2025; 14(2): 105166 Published online Jun 25, 2025. doi: 10.5527/wjn.v14.i2.105166
Anti-nuclear cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis and kidney cancer: A mini review
Samuel Wilding, Henry H L Wu, Nina Brown, Rajkumar Chinnadurai
Samuel Wilding, Nina Brown, Rajkumar Chinnadurai, Donal O’Donoghue Renal Research Center and Department of Renal Medicine, Northern Care Alliance National Health Service Foundation Trust, Salford M6 8HD, United Kingdom
Henry H L Wu, Renal Research, Kolling Institute of Medical Research, Royal North Shore Hospital and The University of Sydney, Sydney 2065, Australia
Author contributions: Wu HHL and Chinnadurai R designed the outline and coordinated the writing of the paper; Wilding S performed majority of the writing; Chinnadurai R prepared the figure; Wu HHL, Brown N and Chinnadurai R provided review of the draft versions of the paper prior to submission of the final version; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interests in this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Henry H L Wu, Renal Research, Kolling Institute of Medical Research, Royal North Shore Hospital and The University of Sydney, Reserve Road, St. Leonards (Sydney), Sydney 2065, Australia. henrywu96@yahoo.com
Received: January 14, 2025 Revised: February 26, 2025 Accepted: March 8, 2025 Published online: June 25, 2025 Processing time: 86 Days and 6.1 Hours
Abstract
This mini review explores the links between anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV) and kidney cancer. Several studies suggest an increased incidence of cancer for patients with AAV. Different cancer types have shown different standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) in association with AAV. The SIRs of kidney cancer were found to be between 1.7 and 3.3 as per three retrospective data analyses. This association is likely multifactorial, with increased de novo cancer risks associated with inflammatory diseases; carcinogenic therapies such as cyclophosphamide; and reduced immune surveillance of neoplastic cells in immunocompromised individuals. Some studies have proposed that cancers, including kidney cancer, could be a potential trigger for AAV. Due to variability in SIRs and a lack of multicenter studies looking specifically into the incidence of kidney cancer at AAV diagnosis and on follow-up post initiation of AAV treatment, there remains a lack of evidence to support formal screening for kidney cancer in the AAV patient cohort. Greater awareness on the increased risk of cancer in AAV patients, prompt urological assessment of “red flag” symptoms of kidney cancer, and smoking cessation advice to reduce cancer risk should be standard of care for patients with AAV.
Core Tip: There are numerous etiologies proposed which may explain for the associations between anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV) and kidney cancer, such as immunosuppressive agents prescribed for treatment of AAV leading to increased kidney cancer risk. Nevertheless, there remains variability in published incidence rates and a lack of high-quality multi-center studies looking specifically into the incidence of kidney cancer at AAV diagnosis and on follow-up post-initiation of AAV treatment. A greater clinical awareness of the increased risk of cancer in AAV patients is needed, to promote prompt urological assessment and promote risk reduction measures in this patient population.
