Highlights
- Kidney cancer incidence is higher in First Nations people than in other people in Ontario.
- Incidence rates for kidney cancer in First Nations people have increased more quickly than they have in other Ontarians.
- The high prevalence of cancer risk factors in First Nations people suggests that the rate of kidney cancer will continue to increase without appropriate prevention and control strategies.
From 1991 to 2010, kidney cancer incidence rates (new cases) were significantly higher in First Nations people in Ontario than in other Ontarians (including Inuit and Métis people). Kidney cancer was the fifth most commonly diagnosed cancer in First Nations people (5.4% of all cancers), but the 12th most commonly diagnosed cancer type among other Ontarians (2.4% of all cancers).
This higher incidence trend was seen in First Nations males and females. The incidence rate in First Nations males was 19 per 100,000, but in other Ontario males it was 10 per 100,000. In First Nations females, the incidence was 13 per 100,000, whereas the incidence in other females in Ontario was 5.7 per 100,000.
Kidney cancer incidence in First Nations males had a small but significant decrease from 1991 to 2003 and then increased sharply from 2003 to 2010, whereas kidney cancer incidence in other Ontario males increased only slightly from 1991 to 2010. Although kidney cancer incidence increased in both First Nations and other Ontario females, the rate more than doubled from 1991 to 2010 in First Nations females, and only increased marginally in other females in Ontario.
As with incidence, kidney cancer mortality in First Nations males and females was higher than in other males and females in Ontario.
Kidney cancer has been linked to established modifiable risk factors, such as cigarette smoking, excess body weight and high blood pressure.[1] In a previous report, Cancer in First Nations in Ontario: Risk Factors and Screening, commercial tobacco exposure (including cigarette smoking and second-hand smoke) was shown to be more common in First Nations people (on- and off-reserve) than non-Aboriginal Ontarians, and First Nations people were more likely to be obese.[2] The health of First Nations people is also strongly influenced by factors that individuals have little control over, such as access to care, community infrastructure and the lasting effects of colonialism.[3]
Although these cancer incidence patterns are from the past (1991 to 2010), the continuing high prevalence of cancer risk factors observed among First Nations people suggests that the rate of kidney cancer in this population will continue to increase unless actions are taken to prevent and reduce exposure to cancer risk factors and improve cancer screening in First Nations communities.
For more information on cancer in First Nations people, read Cancer in First Nations People in Ontario: Incidence, Mortality, Survival and Prevalence, which was developed and published by Cancer Care Ontario in partnership with the Chiefs of Ontario and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences. The report provides a comprehensive overview of major cancer types diagnosed in First Nations people, including comparisons to other people in Ontario. First Nations communities and decision-makers could use the information from the report to set priorities and plan initiatives to address areas of concern.