The association between autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease and cancer

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is considered as a tumor-like disease because there are many biological similarities between ADPKD and cancer. However, the commonalities between them are provocative, particularly under the conditions of recent clinical studies. In this paper, we review clinical studies about the association between cancer and ADPKD, and compare the biological characteristics between them, with focusing on cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, apoptosis, and polarity. With detailed literature reviewing, we believe that ADPKD patients have a higher risk of tumorigenesis and thus highly recommend being aware of tumorigenesis during follow-up in patients with ADPKD.