[Occupational exposure to cadmium and renal cancer. Apropos of a case].
BACKGROUND
Cadmium is a carcinogenic substance and bronchial and prostatic cancer may be readily identified as professional diseases. It is also a nephrotoxic substance but renal carcinoma are rarely imputed to this kind of intoxication.


METHODS
We report the observation of a 59-year-old woman with a long unprotected professional exposure to cadmium. She developed an epidermoid carcinoma of the kidney and later of the lung. Levels of cadmium in blood samples were abnormally high, confirming the existence of a chronic impregnation.


CONCLUSIONS
We have judged cadmium to be responsible for her renal disease: the fact of a long unprotected professional exposure, the scarcity of renal epidermoid carcinoma, the well established nephrotoxicity of this substance and the association with other cancers, appear to us as convincing evidence, and the kidney cancer of our patient has been considered a professional disease.
Series
C
C
Service de médecine interne, hôpital Pellegrin-Tripode, Bordeaux, France.
Ghorayeb
I
I
Guez
S
S
Verdun Esquerre
C
C
Brochard
P
P
Poussin
A
A
Lafitte
J Y
JY
Pomies
F
F
D002104:Cadmium / Q000097:blood; D002105:Cadmium Poisoning / Q000150:complications*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000139:chemically induced*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced; D008875:Middle Aged; D009378:Neoplasms, Multiple Primary / Q000139:chemically induced; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced*; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D013997:Time Factors
D002104:Cadmium
Exposition professionnelle au cadmium et cancer du rein. A propos d'un cas.