Kidney Cancer (Adult) - Renal Cell Carcinoma  + -Text Size
Causes, Risk Factors, and Prevention TOPICS  Do we know what
causes kidney cancer?  Although many risk factors may increase
the chance of developing kidney cancer, it is not yet known
exactly how some of these risk factors cause kidney cells to
become cancerous.  Changes (mutations) in genes  Researchers are
beginning to understand how certain changes in DNA can cause
normal kidney cells to become cancerous. DNA is the chemical in
each of our cells that makes up our genes − the instructions for
how our cells function. We usually look like our parents because
they are the source of our DNA. However, DNA affects more than
how we look.  Some genes control when our cells grow, divide,
and die. Certain genes that speed up cell division and stop
cells from dying when they are supposed to are called oncogenes.
Others that slow down cell division, or cause cells to die at
the right time, are called tumor suppressor genes. Cancers can
be caused by DNA mutatio