UroToday- Molecular markers that predict prognosis more than stage and grade remain the elusive holy grail of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) researchers. Many molecules have been identified, as a consequence of the elucidation of the molecular biology of RCC progression and metastasis, but few have remained significant above clinical and pathologic factors in multivariate analysis. Here, Pertia and colleagues examine the expression of p27(KIP1), an inhibitory cell cycle control molecule, in patients with RCC, as a marker of prognosis.

The authors examined the expression of p27(KIP1) in 24 normal kidneys and 52 specimens of RCC using immunohistochemistry. The authors found significantly increased expression in normal tissue relative to tumor (p=0.0045). The intensity of p27(KIP1) staining negatively correlated with tumor size (p=0.0051), stage (p=0.0488) and grade (p