Although genetic studies from us and others have identified multiple RCC susceptibility genes, including caspase 9, AKT serine/threonine kinase 1, cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2C [31], glutamate metabotropic receptors [15], hepatic leukaemia factor [32], and mitogen-activated protein kinase 10 [33], to our knowledge, this is the first study to link SHANK2 to RCC. Here, AKT1 is linked to renal cell carcinoma.