TY - JOUR AU - Li, Guorong AU - Mallouk, Nora AU - Flandrin, Pascale AU - Garcin, Arnauld AU - Lambert, Claude AU - Berremila, Sid Ali AU - Habchi, Hocine AU - Mottet, Nicolas PY - 2021 DA - 2021/7/20 TI - Presence of Urinary Exosomes for Liquid Biopsy of Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma: Protocol for a Pilot Feasibility Study JO - JMIR Res Protoc SP - e24423 VL - 10 IS - 7 KW - liquid biopsy KW - urine exosome KW - CA9 KW - clear cell renal cell carcinoma KW - kidney cancer AB - Background: Approximately 70%-80% of kidney cancers are clear cell renal cell carcinomas (CCRCCs). Patient management is based on imaging (abdominal ultrasound and computerized tomography), surgical excision of the tumor, and pathological analysis. A tissue biopsy is therefore necessary to confirm the diagnosis and avoid unnecessary nephrectomy. For metastatic cancers, a tissue biopsy is essential for establishing the targeted therapy. This biopsy of tumor material is invasive and painful. Other techniques such as liquid biopsy would help reduce the need for tissue biopsy. The development of a simple biological test for diagnosis is essential. CA9 is a powerful marker for the diagnosis of CCRCC. Exosomes have become a major source of liquid biopsy because they carry tumor proteins, RNA, and lipids. Urine is the most convenient biological liquid for exosome sampling. Objective: The aim of this study (PEP-C study) is mainly to determine whether it is possible to detect urinary exosomal CA9 for the molecular diagnosis of CCRCC. Methods: This study will include 60 patients with CCRCC and 40 noncancer patients. Exosomes will be isolated from urine samples and exosomal CA9 will be detected by transmission electron microscopy, flow cytometry, and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Results: This study is currently underway with funding support from the CHU Saint-Etienne of France. Conclusions: We expect to demonstrate that urinary tumor exosomes could be a novel liquid biopsy to diagnose CCRCC and to guide clinicians in treatment decision-making. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04053855; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04053855 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/24423 SN - 1929-0748 UR - https://www.researchprotocols.org/2021/7/e24423 UR - https://doi.org/10.2196/24423 UR - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34283029 DO - 10.2196/24423 ID - info:doi/10.2196/24423 ER -