Serum tumour associated trypsin inhibitor, as a biomarker for survival in renal cell carcinoma.

Objective: Tumour associated trypsin inhibitor (TATI) is a peptide that is a marker for several tumours. TATI may also behave as an acute phase reactant in severe inflammatory disease. Overexpression of TATI predicts an unfavourable outcome for many cancers. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of pre- and postoperative concentration of TATI in serum (S-TATI) of patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Materials And Methods: S-TATI was determined by time resolved immunofluorometric assay in preoperative and postoperative samples that were collected from 132 RCC patients, who underwent partial or complete nephrectomy in Helsinki University Hospital from May 2005 to July 2010.

Results: Preoperative S-TATI was significantly associated with tumour stage, lymph-node involvement, metastatic stage, Chronic Kidney Disease Stage (CKD grade), and preoperative C-reactive protein level ( < 0.05). Postoperative S-TATI was significantly associated only with CKD grade ( < 0.001). Multivariate Cox regression analysis of postoperative S-TATI, as a continuous variable, was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (HR = 1.01, 95% CI = 1.00-1.01,  = 0.03) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) (HR = 1.01, 95% CI = 1.00-1.02,  = 0.004).

Conclusions: Our data suggest that elevated postoperative S-TATI may be associated with adverse prognosis in RCC patients.