Biomarkers from the cadherin family (also known as calcium-dependent adhesion)
| Method | Number of patients | Significance of success as biomarker | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kidney-specific cadherin (Ksp-cad) | 102 ccRCC, 46 pRCC, 30 chRCC, 3 cdRCC, 31 RO | Ksp-cad was expressed almost exclusively in chRCCs (97.7% of cases). Ksp-cad offers a quick, dependable approach for differentiating between RO and chRCCs. | 44 |
| 42 ccRCC, 30 pRCC, 13 chRCC, 20 RO using whole sections | By contrast with Mazal et al, 2004, here both chRCC (13/13) and RO (19/20) were positive for Ksp-cad. Ksp-cad not a useful marker for differentiating. | 67 | |
| 15 chRCC, 15 RO for mRNA analysis and IHC on TMAs containing 36 chRCC, 41 RO | Ksp-cad differentiate RO from chRCC. Ksp-cad was present in chRCCs and ROs at mRNA (89% chRCC and 64% RO) and IHC (31/36 chRCCs and 31/41 RO) | 68 | |
| N-Cadherin | 21 Japanese cases chRCC, ccRCC, RO. | chRCC and RO were positive for E-cadherin but not for N-cadherin. All ccRCCs were negative for E-cadherin, and 58% were positive for N-cadherin. Useful to distinguish chRCC from ccRCC but not between chRCC and RO. | 69 |
| E-Cadherin | |||
| Ep-CAM (epithelial cell adhesion molecule) | 22 chRCC, 17 RO,45 ccRCC | Expressed in all chRCC in more than 90% of cells. EpCAM-positive RO (5/17; 29%) had single cell or small cell cluster positivity. The homogeneous EpCAM expression assists to diagnosis chRCC from RO. | 47 |
| 10 each of ccRCC, pRCC, chRCCs, RO | EpCAM distinguished between RO and chRCC. RO were negative for EpCAM but positive in 8/10 (80%) of chRCC. | 64 |
ccRCC, clear cell renal cell carcinoma; pRCC, papillary renal cell carcinoma; chRCC, chromophobe renal cell carcinoma; RO, renal oncocytoma; cdRCC, collecting duct renal cell carcinoma.