Background: Renal alterations in the context of neoplastic disease are relatively frequent manifestations but are overall poorly reported.
Material and methods: A search in the English and French literature was performed using the following key words: "cancer", "renal", "paraneoplastic syndrome", "glomerulopathy" and "kidney failure".
Results: The various renal manifestations can be divided into specific and paraneoplastic. They include paraneoplastic glomerulopathies (membranous glomerulonephristis being the most frequent), direct involvement of the renal parenchyma, hydroelectrolytic abnormalities (hypercalcemia, inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion…), retroperitoneal fibrosis, micro-angiothrombotic disease and tumor lysis syndrome. Anticancer and symptomatic treatments do not guaranty complete recovery in all cases.
Conclusion: The frequency and the severity of some renal manifestations associated with malignant hemopathies and carcinomas indicates a need for initial renal-oriented work-up and follow-up.