The value of urine DNA methylation in non-invasive diagnosis of upper urinary tract epithelial carcinoma / 中华泌尿外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore the performance and value of urine DNA methylation technology in non-invasive diagnosis of upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC).Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the of 107 patients with UTUC (UTUC group) and 121 patients with benign upper urinary tract diseases (control group) admitted to Sun Yat sen Memorial Hospital and Peking University First Hospital from August 2019 to March 2021. There were 64 males (59.8%) and 43 females (40.2%) in the UTUC group, with the age of (67 ± 10) years old.There were 50 cases (46.7%) of ureteral cancer, 42 cases (39.3%) of renal pelvis cancer, and 15 cases (14.0%) of renal pelvis cancer combined with ureteral cancer.45 cases (42.0%) of non muscular infiltrative UTUC, 51 cases (47.7%) of muscular infiltrative UTUC, and 11 cases (10.3%) of unclear stage.There were 14 cases (13.1%) with low tumor grade and 93 cases (86.9%) with high grade. There were 81 males (66.9%) and 40 females (33.1%) in the control group, with the age of (52 ± 14) years old.There were 104 cases (86.0%) of urinary stones, 13 cases (10.7%) of ureteral stenosis or polyps, and 4 cases (3.3%) of simple hydronephrosis. Sixty cases (56.1%) in the UTUC group and 11 cases (9.1%) in the control group underwent urine cytology examination. Seventy-two cases (67.3%) in the UTUC group and 9 cases (7.4%) in the control group underwent urine in situ fluorescence hybridization (FISH) examination. Quantitative PCR detection based on ONECUT2 and VIM gene methylation was performed on urine sediment samples from both groups. If ≥ 1 gene was positive, it was determined as positive, and if both genes were negative, it was determined as negative. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of urine cytology, FISH, and urine DNA methylation tests were evaluated based on pathological or clinical diagnosis criteria.Results:The overall sensitivity of urine DNA methylation test was 84.1%, specificity was 90.9%, accuracy was 87.7%, positive predictive value was 89.1%, and negative predictive value was 86.6%, respectively. It's sensitivity and accuracy were significantly higher than that of urine cytology (43.3%, P<0.05)(52.1%, P<0.05)and FISH (69.4%, P<0.05)(71.6%, P<0.05). The accuracy was significantly higher than that of urine cytology (52.1%, P<0.05) and FISH (71.6%, P<0.05); There was no statistically significant difference in specificity between urine cytology (100.0%) and FISH (88.9%) ( P>0.05). The results of subgroup analysis showed that the diagnostic sensitivity of urine DNA methylation test for tumors in different locations was 74.0% (37/50 cases) for ureteral cancer, 90.5% (38/42 cases) for renal pelvis cancer, and 100.0% (15/15 cases) for renal pelvis cancer combined with ureteral cancer.The diagnostic specificity for different benign diseases was 92.3% (96/104 cases) for urinary stones, 84.6% (11/13 cases) for ureteral stenosis and polyps, and 75.0% (3/4 cases) for simple hydronephrosis. The diagnostic sensitivity of urine DNA methylation test for low-grade UTUC was 64.3%, significantly higher than that of urine cytology (20.0%) and FISH(36.4%)( P<0.05). The diagnostic sensitivity for high-level UTUC was 87.1%, which was higher than that of urine cytology (48.0%) and FISH (75.4%)( P<0.05). The diagnostic sensitivity for non muscular invasive UTUC was 77.8%, which was significantly higher than that of urine cytology (29.2%) and FISH (64.5%)( P<0.05). The diagnostic sensitivity for myometrial infiltrative UTUC was 88.2%, which was superior to urine cytology (53.6%) and FISH (72.7%)( P<0.05). The sensitivity and specificity of urine DNA methylation test in Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University were 83.0% and 92.0%, respectively.It’s sensitivity and specificity in Peking University First Hospital were 85.2% and 85.7%, respectively. Conclusions:The urine ONECUT2 and VIM gene methylation assay have high sensitivity and accuracy in upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma, which are superior to urine cytology as well as FISH.