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Blood test may help detect kidney cancer earlier

Testing plasma kidney injury molecule-1 concentrations could aid in predicting renal cell carcinoma up to 5 years before clinical diagnosis, according to data published in Clinical Cancer Research.

“Renal cell carcinoma has the potential for cure with surgery when diagnosed at an early stage,” Rupal Bhatt, MD, PhD, senior author of the study from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, and colleagues wrote. “Kidney injury molecule-1 has been shown to be elevated in the plasma of renal cell carcinoma patients.”

Bhatt and colleagues conducted a population-based prospective cohort study to determine if plasma kidney injury molecule-1 concentrations measured in blood samples could detect renal cell carcinoma prior to clinical diagnosis.

The study included 190 patients who developed renal cell carcinoma within 5 years (cases) and 190 patients who remained healthy (controls). Cases and controls were matched based on birth date, blood donation date, sex and country.

The researchers found that patients who eventually developed renal cell carcinoma had double the concentration of kidney injury molecule-1 in prediagnostic plasma (incidence RR = 1.71; 95% CI, 1.44-2.03).

A risk model that included kidney injury molecule-1 significantly distinguished between cases and controls, compared with a risk model that included known risk factors of renal cell carcinoma, including age, sex, country, BMI and tobacco smoking status.

Patients with high concentrations of plasma kidney injury molecule-1 were more likely to have worse survival.

“At this time, we do not recommend that kidney injury molecule-1 testing be implemented into clinical practice,” Bhatt told Healio Internal Medicine. “Further studies are needed before it could be considered for clinical application. However, additional validation studies should be performed and kidney injury molecule-1 should be incorporated into other clinical trial studies.”

“Kidney injury molecule-1 should be explored as a marker to follow disease in people been diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma,” she added.

Bhatt noted that physicians should be aware that kidney injury molecule-1 is also a marker of non-cancer-related kidney disease. – by Alaina Tedesco

Disclosure: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.