Serum Hepcidin and GDF-15 levels as prognostic markers in urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary tract and renal cell carcinoma

Lisa Traeger,Andrea U Steinbicker,Edwin Herrmann,Andres Jan Schrader,Maria Eveslage,Janina Ihbe,Ines Ellermann,Helene Wiethoff,Rudolf Moritz,Inka Gallitz

doi:10.1186/s12885-019-5278-0

Lisa Traeger, Andrea U Steinbicker + Show 8 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-019-5278-0

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Abstract

BackgroundCancer is a life-threatening disease that causes every fourth death. It is often hard to determine the time point of progression. Therefore, biomarkers for cancer entities that indicate disease progression or aggressiveness and thereby guide therapeutic decisions are required. Unfortunately, reliable biomarkers are rare. In this study, the potential of serum hepcidin and serum GDF-15 as biomarkers that correlate with patient’s survival in the two entities upper urinary tract urothelial carcinomas (UUTUC) and renal cell carcinoma (RCC) were analyzed.MethodsIn this retrospective study n = 38 patients suffering from UUTUC, n = 94 patients suffering from RCC and n = 21 patients without infections or cancer, all hospitalized at the University Hospital Muenster, were included. Serum samples of patients were retrospectively analyzed. Serum hepcidin and GDF-15 levels were measured and correlated to aggressiveness and progression of the disease as well as patient’s outcome.ResultsFor both entities, UUTUC and RCC, serum hepcidin levels as well as serum GDF-15 levels were increased compared to sera of controls. High serum hepcidin and GDF-15 levels were associated with metastases and cancer relapse. Also, in both entities, the overall survival was decreased in patients with increased serum hepcidin and GDF-15 levels. Hence, high serum hepcidin and GDF-15 levels correlated with patient’s outcome.ConclusionTo conclude, the data of this study show a correlation of high serum hepcidin and GDF-15 levels with aggressiveness and progression of the disease and demonstrate potential prognostic properties of serum hepcidin and GDF-15 levels. The data support the further assessment of serum hepcidin and GDF-15 as prognostic markers in RCC and UUTUC.

Highlights

Cancer is a life-threatening disease that causes every fourth death
If hepcidin is induced for a prolonged period, the iron restriction leads to the development of the anemia of chronic disease (ACD), which is named anemia of inflammation (AI) [6]
The data support the further assessment of serum hepcidin and Growth/differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) as prognostic markers in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and upper urinary tract urothelial carcinomas (UUTUC)

Summary

Introduction

Cancer is a life-threatening disease that causes every fourth death. It is often hard to determine the time point of progression. Biomarkers for cancer entities that indicate disease progression or aggressiveness and thereby guide therapeutic decisions are required. The potential of serum hepcidin and serum GDF-15 as biomarkers that correlate with patient’s survival in the two entities upper urinary tract urothelial carcinomas (UUTUC) and renal cell carcinoma (RCC) were analyzed. It is difficult to foresee the time point at which. Traeger et al BMC Cancer (2019) 19:74 iron availability [5]. If hepcidin is induced for a prolonged period, the iron restriction leads to the development of the anemia of chronic disease (ACD), which is named anemia of inflammation (AI) [6]. Estrogen and testosterone regulate hepcidin [7, 8]

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