Comparative Evaluation of Urinary Biomarkers in Wilms Tumor Survivors and Children with Chronic Kidney Disease

Wilms tumor (WT), the most common pediatric renal malignancy, shares some clinical and pathological features with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Understanding biomarkers of kidney injury among CKD and WT patients is of high interest due to its potential implications for diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment strategies. This study enrolled twenty pediatric patients with WT (stage I-IV), forty with CKD (stage I-V), and twenty healthy volunteers. Urine samples were collected and six urine biomarkers (calbindin, clusterin, GST-π, IL-18, KIM-1, MCP-1) associated with kidney injury were assessed using the Bio-Plex Pro RBM Human Kidney Toxicity Assays kit (Bio-Plex Manager software 4.0). A comparative analysis of biomarker levels across the three groups revealed distinct patterns. Creatinine levels were notably elevated in CKD (1.32 ± 1.9) compared to WT (0.64 ± 0.26) and the control group. Tested biomarkers were calculated per milligram of urine creatinine, and all the differences among the groups were statistically significant. Pearson's correlation coefficients showed strong interplay among CKD biomarkers. This study identified variations in biomarker patterns among WT and CKD patients. Understanding biomarker interactions may provide future diagnostic approaches for pediatric kidney conditions.