Identification of Prognostic Biomarkers in the Urinary Peptidome of the Small Renal Mass

Abstract

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is often diagnosed incidentally as a small renal mass (SRM; pT1a, ≤4 cm). Increasing concerns surrounding the overtreatment of patients with benign or clinically silent SRMs has resulted in a recent shift in treatment recommendations, especially in elderly and infirm patients. There are currently no biomarkers that can predict progression. We used a quantitative label-free liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry peptidomics approach and targeted parallel-reaction monitoring to identify early, noninvasive diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for early-stage RCC-SRMs. In total, 115 urine samples, including 33 renal oncocytoma (≤4 cm) cases, 30 progressive and 26 nonprogressive clear cell RCC-SRM cases, and 26 healthy controls were evaluated. Nine endogenous peptides that displayed significantly elevated expression in clear cell RCC-SRMs relative to healthy controls were identified. Peptides NVINGGSHAGNKLAMQEF, VNVDEVGGEALGRL, and VVAGVANALAHKYH showed significantly elevated expression in clear cell RCC-SRMs relative to renal oncocytoma. Additionally, peptides SHTSDSDVPSGVTEVVVKL and IVDNNILFLGKVNRP displayed significantly elevated expression in progressive relative to nonprogressive clear cell RCC-SRMs. Peptide SHTSDSDVPSGVTEVVVKL showed the most significant discriminatory utility (area under the curve, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.62-0.90; P=0.0027). Patients with elevated SHTSDSDVPSGVTEVVVKL expression had significantly shorter overall survival (hazard ratio, 4.13; 95% CI, 1.09-15.65; P=0.024) compared to patients with low expression. Pretreatment characterization of urinary peptides can provide insight into early RCC progression and may aid clinical decision-making and improve disease management.