Volume 29, Issue 161, July 2025

The Association Between Kidney Stone Disease and the Incidence of Genitourinary Cancers

Szymon Bienia¹, Sara Hassan^2♦, Aisha Hassan³, Kamil Hassan⁴

¹Medical University of Silesia, 18 Medyków Street, 40-752 Katowice, Poland
²Medical University of Silesia, 18 Medyków Street, 40-752 Katowice, Poland
³Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, Wóycickiego 1/3, 01-938 Warsaw, Poland
⁴Social Academy of Sciences in Łódź, Henryka Sienkiewicza 9, 90-113 Łódź, Poland

^♦Corresponding author
Sara Hassan, Medical University of Silesia, 18 Medyków Street, 40-752 Katowice, Poland

ABSTRACT

Kidney stone disease (nephrolithiasis) is a common urological condition with rising global prevalence over the past three decades. Data support a correlation between kidney stones and genitourinary malignancies, particularly renal cell carcinoma (RCC), bladder cancer, and prostate cancer. This study examines epidemiological and pathophysiological links between nephrolithiasis and these cancers, based on extensive cohort studies and molecular insights. Bladder cancer, one of the most common urinary tract malignancies, occurs more frequently in individuals with a history of kidney stones, with significantly elevated odds ratios reported. Prostate cancer, the most prevalent male malignancy, is also more common in stone formers, especially with concurrent urinary tract infections. For RCC, the relationship appears subtype-specific, with papillary RCC showing the strongest correlation. Shared risk factors—such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, poor diet, tobacco use, age, and sex—contribute to both nephrolithiasis and cancer development. Chronic inflammation and epithelial injury from recurrent stones may create a carcinogenic environment in the urinary tract. However, Mendelian randomization studies are not yet supportive of a direct causal relationship between genetics, suggesting that environmental and physiological processes are more central to the relationship. Finally, kidney stone disease may be a risk marker for genitourinary cancer. Identification of this association is essential for prevention and early detection in high-risk groups.

Keywords: Kidney stones, Genitourinary cancer, Prostate cancer, Bladder cancer

Medical Science, 2025, 29, e107ms3612

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v29i161.e107ms3612

Published: 16 July 2025