Age: renal cancer is most common in the 55-60 year age range
Gender: more frequent in men than women (2:1)
Race: caucasian men are at somewhat higher risk than African-Amerian men (transitional cell carcinoma is twice as common among Caucasian men as among African-American men).
Smoking: smokers are four times as likely to develop transitional cell kidney and ureter cancer as non-smokers.
Family history: people with a family history of kidney or ureter cancer, especially when other inherited disorders are present, such as tuberous sclerosis, von Hippel-Laundau's disease, Sturge-Weber syndrome, neurofibromatosis, and ataxia telangiectasia.
Environment
Exposure to thorotrast
People living in urban, industrialized areas
People whose jobs expose them to trace metals such as cadmium
Exposure to certain chemicals such as nitrosamines, aflatoxins, lead acetate, and potassium bromate
Exposure to asbestos
Intake: use of analgesic phenacetin for a prolonged time