In the US in 2008, >50 000 cases of kidney cancer were diagnosed and an estimated 13 000 individuals died of the disease [1]. Of these, approximately 90% had renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Worryingly, the incidence of RCC has increased by 2% per year over the past 65 years and the reason for this is unclear. Although it only constitutes 2% of all cases of malignancy, the burden of disease that it currently presents is appreciable.