Induced crystal formation in urine as an easily accessible indicator of tumor stage? – A translational explorative study

Abstract

Urinary concentrations of metabolic products associated with neoplasms can change the supersaturation and thus alter the potential of crystal formation in urine. This study examines the ability of the BONN-Risk-Index (BRI)-method of induced crystallization of Ca-oxalate in urine for monitoring the progression of (uro-)oncological diseases.

BRI was compared to tumor marker concentrations and imaging in patients with prostate cancer (PC) and patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NET). In NET, a correlation between BRI and the amount of bone metastases emerges. In PC, log₂(BRI) and bone-specific alkaline-phosphatase inversely correlate with r ​= ​0.71.

It was shown that BRI and the clinical picture promisingly correlate.