Comparing predictive values of carbohydrate antigen 19-9, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, and kidney injury molecule-1 in 161 patients with ureteropelvic junction obstruction.

Background: To evaluate and compare the efficacy of urinary carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), and kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) biomarkers as predictive factors to determine the surgery requirement in patients with ureteropelvic junction obstruction.

Methods: We obtained urine samples from 161 patients at diagnosis and evaluated their levels of the three biomarkers. The patients were under observation for 2 years; subsequently, they were divided into two groups based on their requirement of pyeloplasty. We determined the correlation between the urinary concentration of the biomarkers and surgical interventions, as well as the kidney function deterioration and sonography outcomes.

Results: The non-surgery group included 60 male and 22 female patients with mean age of 21 months. The surgery group comprised 58 boys and 21 girls with mean age of 26.9 months with no significant difference of age and gender between the two groups. The outcomes were indicative of higher efficacy of CA19-9 level with a sensitivity and specificity of 84.2% and 73.2% at the cutoff point of 59.09 U/ml. Also, a significant negative correlation was detected between the kidney function and the concentrations of CA19-9 and NGAL.

Conclusions: Our evaluations demonstrate the higher efficacy of CA19-9 to predict the requirement of surgical intervention in comparison with the other biomarkers, as well as a significant correlation between kidney function deterioration and urinary CA19-9 and NGAL. The outcomes of this investigation could pave the way for more extensive clinical application of these urinary biomarkers, besides future research determining the association between markers and kidney fibrosis.