Urine proteomic analysis differentiates cholangiocarcinoma from primary sclerosing cholangitis and other benign biliary diseases

Aims: Diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma (CC) and subsequent curative treatment often comes too late due to a lack of reliable early tumor markers. Patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) are at risk to develop CC. Thus, a convincing strategy for early CC detection during PSC surveillance is urgently needed. Endoscopic procedures to diagnose CC are limited due to a low sensitivity and specificity. We recently demonstrated that bile proteomic analysis distinguishes CC from non-malignant lesions. Nevertheless, bile collection is still invasive. Urine is an attractive diagnostic source because it is less co…