Albuminuria is associated with the incidence of some cancers in nondiabetic individuals

Abstract

Albuminuria has been shown to be associated with cardiovascular and noncardiovascular mortality in the general population, with malignant neoplasms accounting for a large proportion of the noncardiovascular deaths. Although a possible association between proteinuria and cancer has been discussed for more than 40 years, it is still unclear whether albuminuria is associated with cancer incidence. Jørgensen et al. monitored 5,425 study participants who did not have diabetes, macroalbuminuria or previous cancer at baseline, for a mean of 9.1 years. This population-based longitudinal study showed a relationship between increasing albuminuria and risk of cancer, although the finding is hypothesis generating rather than hypothesis testing. This Practice Point commentary discusses the findings and limitations of this observational study and highlights the issues related to the relationship between albuminuria and cancer. In addition, possible underlying mechanisms and the need for further investigation are discussed.