Urinary Epidermal Growth Factor as a Marker of Disease Progression in Children with Nephrotic Syndrome

Abstract Introduction Childhood-onset nephrotic syndrome has a variable clinical course. Improved predictive markers of long-term outcomes in children with nephrotic syndrome are needed. This study tests the association between baseline urinary epidermal growth factor (uEGF) excretion and longitudinal kidney function in children with nephrotic syndrome. Methods The study evaluated 191 participants Results Higher uEGF/Cr at baseline was associated with slower eGFR decline during follow-up (median follow-up=30 months). Halving of uEGF/Cr was associated with a decrease in eGFR slope of 2.0 mL/min/1.73m2 per year (P Conclusion: uEGF/Cr may be a useful non-invasive biomarker that can assist in predicting the long-term course of kidney function in children with incident nephrotic syndrome.