Renal cell carcinomas, originating from the renal cortex, account for about 80% of kidney primary malignancies. Small localized tumors rarely produce symptoms and diagnosis is often delayed until the disease is advanced. In contrast to other urological cancers, renal cell carcinomas are associated with a high degree of metastases and a low 5-year survival rate. The identification of diagnostic and prognostic markers, especially in the urine, remains an area of intense investigation. Different proteomic strategies have been applied so far to biomarker discovery in urine at the proteome or the peptidome level. Gel-based and gel-free strategies combined with mass spectrometry are the most-used strategies, have different success rates, and will be depicted here. We also prefigure a scenario in which the limitations of a single approach are overcome by applying new and complementary research strategies, relying on the excellent availability coupled to the intrinsic richness typical of urine samples.
Keywords: biomarker; exosomes; peptidome; proteomics; renal cell carcinoma; urine.