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KIDNEY CANCER

Is PFOA a renal carcinogen?

Nature Reviews Urology volume 17, page 602 (2020)Cite this article

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Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are highly persistent hydrophobic, lipophobic and heat-resistant chemicals. Their widespread commercial and industrial use over the past 70 years means that they have been released into the environment and their C–F bonds ensure that they resist degradation, contaminating ground and surface water and soil and accumulating in drinking water. PFAS have been detected in >98% of the US population in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), but whether they act as renal carcinogens in the concentrations they are found in the general population remains uncertain. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) has been classified as a possible human carcinogen in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) by the International Agency for Research in Cancer, but other PFAS remain unstudied in terms of kidney cancer risk. “To our knowledge, no studies have examined whether PFOA is associated with increased risk of RCC at levels of exposure comparable to those seen in the US general population,” corresponding author Jonathan Hofmann tells Nature Reviews Urology. “Additionally, associations with RCC for other PFAS have not been evaluated.”

Hofmann’s team investigated the role of PFAS in renal cancer in patients from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO) and matched control samples. Prediagnostic serum concentrations of ten PFAS analytes including PFOA and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and isomers thereof were measured. Concentrations were reported for PFOA and PFOS as the sums of their respective isomers. Serum cystatin C and creatinine were also measured in all samples in order to account for the fact that reduced kidney function might affect serum PFAS concentrations.

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  1. Nature Reviews Urology http://www.nature.com/nrurol/

    Annette Fenner

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  1. Annette Fenner
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Correspondence to Annette Fenner.

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Fenner, A. Is PFOA a renal carcinogen?. Nat Rev Urol 17, 602 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41585-020-00388-3

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