The greatest risk factors for RCC are lifestyle-related; smoking, obesity and hypertension (high blood pressure) have been estimated to account for up to 50% of cases.

Occupational exposure to some chemicals such as asbestos, cadmium, lead, chlorinated solvents, petrochemicals and PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) has been examined by multiple studies with inconclusive results.

Another suspected risk factor is the long term use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS).

Finally, studies have found that women who have had a hysterectomy are at more than double the risk of developing RCC than those who have not. Moderate alcohol consumption, on the other hand, has been shown to have a protective effect. The reason for this remains unclear.

Hereditary factors have a minor impact on individual susceptibility with immediate relatives of people with RCC having a two to fourfold increased risk of developing the condition. Other genetically linked conditions also increase the risk of RCC, including hereditary papillary renal carcinoma, hereditary leiomyomatosis, Birt–Hogg–Dube syndrome, hyperparathyroidism-jaw tumor syndrome, familial papillary thyroid carcinoma, von Hippel–Lindau disease and sickle cell disease.

The most significant disease affecting risk however is not genetically linked – patients with acquired cystic disease of the kidney requiring dialysis are 30 times more likely than the general population to develop RCC.

A ureteral neoplasm is a type of tumor that can be primary, or associated with a metastasis from another site.

Treatment may involve removal of the kidney and ureter, or just the ureter.

Classification of cancers often is oriented around the embryological origin of the tissue. In some contexts, the primary division is at the border of kidney and ureter, and in other contexts, the primary division is between derivatives of the metanephric blastema and those of the ureteric bud. Because of this, neoplasia of the ureters are sometimes grouped with tumors of the renal pelvis.

PUNLMPs can lead to blood in the urine (hematuria) or may be asymptomatic.

As of 2009, there have been approximately 120 reported cases of renal medullary carcinoma. In every instance except for one, the patients were positive for cell sickling. Wilms' tumor, the most common renal tumor of childhood, is responsible for 6-7% of childhood cancer whereas all remaining primary renal tumors (among which is included renal medullary carcinoma) collectively account for less than 1% of all childhood cancer and less than 10% of primary kidney tumors in childhood.

In urologic pathology, PUNLMP, short for papillary urothelial neoplasm of low malignant potential, is an exophytic (outward growing), (microscopically) nipple-shaped (or papillary) pre-malignant growth of the lining of the upper genitourinary tract (the urothelium), which includes the renal pelvis, ureters, urinary bladder and part of the urethra.

"PUNLMP" is pronounced "pun"-"lump", like the words "pun" and "lump".

As their name suggests, PUNLMPs are neoplasms, i.e. clonal cellular proliferations, that are thought to have a low probability of developing into urothelial cancer, i.e. a malignancy such as bladder cancer.

Since the cancer most often presents at an advanced stage, prognosis is generally very poor, with median survival times of 3 months (range 1–7 months). Longer survival of beyond one year was reported in one patient and of up to eight years in one individual whose tumor was well circumscribed and non-metastatic at the time of diagnosis, suggesting that early detection could dramatically improve survival.

A urogenital neoplasm is a tumor of the urogenital system.

Types include:

- Cancer of the breast and female genital organs: (Breast cancer, Vulvar cancer, Vaginal cancer, Cervical cancer, Uterine cancer, Endometrial cancer, Ovarian cancer)

- Cancer of the male genital organs (Carcinoma of the penis, Prostate cancer, Testicular cancer)

- Cancer of the urinary organs (Renal cell carcinoma, Bladder cancer)

Urothelial carcinoma is a prototypical example of a malignancy arising from environmental carcinogenic influences. By far the most important cause is cigarette smoking, which contributes to approximately one-half of the disease burden. Chemical exposure, such as those sustained by workers in the petroleum industry, the manufacture of paints and pigments (e.g., aniline dyes), and agrochemicals are known to predispose one to urothelial cancer. Interestingly, risk is lowered by increased liquid consumption, presumably as a consequence of increased urine production and thus less "dwell time" on the urothelial surface. Conversely, risk is increased among long-haul truck drivers and others in whom long urine dwell-times are encountered. As with most epithelial cancers, physical irritation has been associated with increased risk of malignant transformation of the urothelium. Thus, urothelial carcinomas are more common in the context of chronic urinary stone disease, chronic catheterization (as in patients with paraplegia or multiple sclerosis), and chronic infections. Some particular examples are listed below:

1. Certain drugs, such as cyclophosphamide, via the metabolites acrolein and phenacetin, are known to predispose to TCC (the latter especially with respect to the upper urinary tract).

2. Radiation exposure

3. Somatic mutation, such as deletion of chromosome 9q, 9p, 11p, 17p, 13q, 14q and overexpression of RAS (oncogene) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR).

Metanephric adenoma (MA)is a rare, benign tumour of the kidney, that can have a microscopic appearance similar to a nephroblastoma (Wilms tumours), or a papillary renal cell carcinoma.

It should not be confused with the pathologically unrelated, yet similar sounding, "mesonephric adenoma".

This is a very rare tumor, since only about 1 in 35,000 to 40,000 people have VHL, of whom about 10% have endolymphatic sac tumors. Patients usually present in the 4th to 5th decades without an gender predilection. The tumor involves the endolymphatic sac, a portion of the intraosseous inner ear of the posterior petrous bone.

The symptoms may be similar to those classically associated with renal cell carcinoma, and may include polycythemia, abdominal pain, hematuria and a palpable mass. Mean age at onset is around 40 years with a range of 5 to 83 years and the mean size of the tumour is 5.5 cm with a range 0.3 to 15 cm (1). Polycythemia is more frequent in MA than in any other type of renal tumour. Of further relevance is that this tumour is more commonly calcified than any other kidney neoplasm. Surgery is curative and no other treatment is recommended. There is so far no evidence of metastases or local recurrence.

Duplicated ureter is the most common renal abnormality, occurring in approximately 1% of the population.

Race: Duplicated ureter is more common in Caucasians than in African-Americans.

Sex: Duplicated ureter is more common in females. However, this may be due to the higher frequency of urinary tract infections in females, leading to a higher rate of diagnosis of duplicated ureter.

Kidney tumours (or kidney tumors), also known as renal tumours, are tumours, or growths, on or in the kidney. These growths can be benign or malignant (kidney cancer).

While cancer is generally considered a disease of old age, children can also develop cancer. In contrast to adults, carcinomas are exceptionally rare in children..

The two biggest risk factors for ovarian carcinoma are age and family history.

The causes of diseases of the body are common to the urinary tract. Structural and or traumatic change can lead to hemorrhage, functional blockage or inflammation. Colonisation by bacteria, protozoa or fungi can cause infection. Uncontrolled cell growth can cause neoplasia.

For example:

- Urinary tract infections (UTIs), interstitial cystitis

- incontinence (involuntary loss of urine), benign prostatic hyperplasia (where the prostate overgrows), prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate).

- Urinary retention, which is a common complication of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), though it can also be caused by other types of urinary tract obstruction, nerve dysfunction, tethered spinal cord syndrome, constipation, infection and certain medications.

- Transitional cell carcinoma (bladder cancer), renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer), and prostate cancer are examples of neoplasms affecting the urinary system.

- Urinary tract obstruction

The term "uropathy" refers to a disease of the urinary tract, while "nephropathy" refers to a disease of the kidney.

Kidney tumours may be discovered on medical imaging incidentally (i.e. an incidentaloma), or may be present in patients as an abdominal mass or kidney cyst, hematuria, abdominal pain, or manifest first in a paraneoplastic syndrome that seems unrelated to the kidney.

Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) is a type of tumor that can occur within the cells of the pancreatic duct. IPMN tumors produce mucus, and this mucus can form pancreatic cysts. Although intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms are benign tumors, they can progress to pancreatic cancer. As such IPMN is viewed as a precancerous condition. Once an intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm has been found, the management options include close monitoring and pre-emptive surgery.

Pathologists classify intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) into two broad groups - those that are associated with an invasive cancer and those that are not associated with an invasive cancer. This separation has critical prognostic significance. Patients with a surgically resected intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm without an associated invasive cancer have an excellent prognosis (>95% will be cured), while patients with a surgically resected intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm with an associated invasive cancer have a worse prognosis. Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms without an associated invasive cancer can be further subcategorized into three groups. They are IPMN with low-grade dysplasia, IPMN with moderate dysplasia, and IPMN with high-grade dysplasia. This categorization is less important than the separation of IPMNs with an associated cancer from IPMNs without an associated invasive cancer, but this categorization is useful as IPMNs are believed to progress from low-grade dysplasia to moderate dysplasia to high-grade dysplasia to an IPMN with an associated invasive cancer.

Pancreatic serous cystadenoma, also known as serous cystadenoma of the pancreas and serous microcystic adenoma, a benign tumour of pancreas. It is usually found in the head of the pancreas, and may be associated with von Hippel-Lindau syndrome.

In contrast to some of the other cyst-forming tumors of the pancreas (such as the intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm and the mucinous cystic neoplasm), serous cystic neoplasms are almost always entirely benign. There are some exceptions; rare case reports have described isolated malignant serous cystadenocarcinomas. In addition, serous cystic neoplasms slowly grow, and if they grow large enough they can press on adjacent organs and cause symptoms.

Mucinous tubular and spindle cell carcinoma (MTSCC) is a rare subtype of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), that is included in the 2004 WHO classification of RCC. MTSCC is a rare neoplasm and is considered as a low-grade entity. It may be a variant of papillary RCC. This tumor occurs throughout life (age range 17–82 years) and is more frequent in females.

EMECL is extremely rare, with only a handful of cases reported in the literature.

In the lung, two salivary gland-like carcinomas, mucoepidermoid carcinoma and adenoid cystic carcinoma, while extremely uncommon, occur far more often than does EMECL.

Renal failure is defined by functional impairment of the kidney. Renal failure can be acute or chronic, and can be further broken down into categories of pre-renal, intrinsic renal and post-renal.

Pre-renal failure refers to impairment of supply of blood to the functional nephrons including renal artery stenosis. Intrinsic renal diseases are the classic diseases of the kidney including drug toxicity and nephritis. Post-renal failure is outlet obstruction after the kidney, such as a kidney stone or prostatic bladder outlet obstruction.

Renal failure may require medication, dietary and lifestyle modification and dialysis.

Primary renal cell carcinomas as well as metastatic cancers can affect the kidney.

Parathyroid cancer occurs in midlife at the same rate in men and women.

Conditions that appear to result in an increased risk of parathyroid cancer include multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1, autosomal dominant familial isolated hyperparathyroidism and hyperparathyroidism-jaw tumor syndrome (which also is hereditary). Parathyroid cancer has also been associated with external radiation exposure, but, most reports describe an association between radiation and the more common parathyroid adenoma.

Transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) also urothelial carcinoma (UCC), is a type of cancer that typically occurs in the urinary system. It is the most common type of bladder cancer and cancer of the ureter, urethra, and urachus. It is the second most common type of kidney cancer, but accounts for only five to 10 percent of all primary renal malignant tumors.

TCC arises from the transitional epithelium, a tissue lining the inner surface of these hollow organs.

When the term "urothelial" is used, it specifically refers to a carcinoma of the urothelium, meaning a TCC of the urinary system.