Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41899633›Full record

ArticleCancers2026

A Mitochondrial Plasma Proteomic Signature Identifies Metastatic Chromophobe Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Clara Steiner, Tiegang Han, Steven Safi, Wafaa Bzeih, Hadi Mansour, Eddy Saad, Jessica F Williams, Michelle S Hirsch, Vinay K Giri, Liliana Ascione and 6 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cancers, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

Clara SteinerDana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA.ORCID 0009-0008-8640-1636
Tiegang HanBrigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Steven SafiBrigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Wafaa BzeihBrigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Hadi MansourBrigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Eddy SaadDana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
Jessica F WilliamsBrigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-6696-7909
Michelle S HirschBrigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Vinay K GiriBeth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02215, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-4612-1003
Liliana AscioneDana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2807-7400
Yehonatan ElonOncohost, Binyamina-Giv'at Ada 3057324, Israel.
Adam P DickerDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Sidney Kimmel College of Medicine, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA.
Yan TangBrigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Toni K ChoueiriDana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9201-3217
Elizabeth P HenskeDana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
Wenxin XuDana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8450-2037

Funding

KCCure Chromophobe Kidney Cancer Research GrantTuttle Fund for Chromophobe RCC Research
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundChromophobe renal cell carcinoma (ChRCC) is characterized by the accumulation of abnormal mitochondria, a high rate of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations, and altered oxidative metabolism. There are no existing circulating biomarkers to distinguish metastatic ChRCC from clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC).

methodsHigh-throughput plasma proteomic profiling using the SomaScan platform was performed in 18 ChRCC (including 16 metastatic ChRCC) and 197 metastatic ccRCC patients. Data were harmonized to generate a unified 7K-protein matrix.

resultsDifferential expression analysis was performed using limma (version 3.62.2). Of 7272 quantified human plasma proteins, 209 were differentially expressed between ChRCC and ccRCC. Upregulated proteins in ChRCC included essential β-oxidation enzymes such as ECH1 (enoyl-CoA hydratase 1) and ECI1 (enoyl-CoA delta-isomerase 1), suggesting increased long-chain fatty acid degradation. Creatine and energy-buffering pathways were also represented, with increased CKMT1A (Creatine Kinase, Mitochondrial 1A) in ChRCC. KIM-1 (Kidney Injury Molecule-1) and leptin were lower in ChRCC, consistent with the known upregulation of these proteins in ccRCC. Pathway enrichment analyses revealed an overrepresentation of mitochondrial protein degradation, fatty acid β-oxidation, and respiratory electron transport in ChRCC, suggesting that ChRCC sheds a unique mitochondrial signature into the peripheral circulation. A bootstrap-based LASSO logistic regression restricted to upregulated mitochondrial proteins in ChRCC vs. ccRCC consistently selected ECI1 and CKMT1A. The LASSO model achieved an AUROC of 0.964.

conclusionsCompared to ccRCC, the plasma proteome of metastatic ChRCC is dominated by mitochondrial metabolic enzymes, revealing a systemic metabolic phenotype strikingly aligned with the known histologic accumulation of abnormal mitochondria in ChRCC cells.

Indexed as

chromophobe renal cell carcinomaLASSOmetabolic reprogrammingmitochondriaproteomicsSomaScan

Identifiers

PMID41899633
PMCPMC13025462

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.