Excretion of pseudouridine as an independent prognostic factor in renal cell carcinoma

Pseudouridine is the most prevalent modified nucleoside excreted in urine, mainly as a degradation product of t-RNA. The level of pseudouridine excretion was analyzed in 71 patients with renal cell carcinoma prior to treatment. An increased excretion was demonstrated in 27 of 48 patients (56%) in stage II-IV, compared to 2 of 23 patients (9%) in stage I. Survival time was significantly reduced in patients with increased excretion. The level of pseudouridine correlated to tumor grade and tumor size. Using Cox's proportional hazard model, only clinical stage and level of pseudouridine excretion were independent predictors of prognosis.