Plasma proteomic profiling discovers molecular features associated with upper tract urothelial carcinoma

Cell Rep Med. 2023 Sep 19;4(9):101166. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.101166. Epub 2023 Aug 25.

Abstract

Upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) is often diagnosed late and exhibits poor prognosis. Limited data are available on potential non-invasive biomarkers for disease monitoring. Here, we investigate the proteomic profile of plasma in 362 UTUC patients and 239 healthy controls. We present an integrated tissue-plasma proteomic approach to infer the signature proteins for identifying patients with muscle-invasive UTUC. We discover a protein panel that reflects lymph node metastasis, which is of interest in identifying UTUC patients with high risk and poor prognosis. We also identify a ten-protein classifier and establish a progression clock predicting progression-free survival of UTUC patients. Finally, we further validate the signature proteins by parallel reaction monitoring assay in an independent cohort. Collectively, this study portrays the plasma proteomic landscape of a UTUC cohort and provides a valuable resource for further biological and diagnostic research in UTUC.

Keywords: DIA; mass spectrometry; plasma proteomics; prognosis; upper tract urothelial carcinoma.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Carcinoma, Transitional Cell* / diagnosis
  • Humans
  • Lymphatic Metastasis
  • Muscles
  • Proteomics
  • Urinary Bladder Neoplasms*