Researchers from the CIBBIM- Nanomedicine- Kidney Physiopathology group at Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) have proved the relation between a membrane protein of renal cells, called HAVCR-1/KIM1, and the evolution of different types of kidney cancer. The study shows a strong correlation with the presence of this protein in the urine and the risk of developing kidney cancer, specifically the Clear Cell Renal Carcinoma (ccRCC) and papillary. Furthermore, for the first time the results suggest that the levels of the protein in the tumor and the urine are connected with the degree and the malignancy of the tumors. Consequently, HAVCR-1/KIM1 protein is confirmed as a very useful biomarker to diagnose renal cell cancer and to determine the gravity and the stage of development. Although the protein is detected in ccRCC and papillary cancer, this study, published at the "http://www.ejcancer.info/article/S0959-8049(12)01029-5/abstract" European Journal of Cancer, has demonstrated that in patients with ccRCC the protein HAVCR-1/KIM1 is also expressed in the healthy part of the kidney where there is no evidence of tumor. For that reason, the results indicate that “the anomalous expression of this protein in the renal tissue confers the possibility of developing ccRCC tumors, as well as it detects the presence in the initial stages”, assures Dr. Anna Meseguer, responsible of the study and the Kidney Physiopathology group at VHIR.Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) is the most usual urological cancer and it has a global mortality of 100.000 cases per year. It represents the 3% of new cases of cancer and its influence has been increasing over the last three decades. There are several types of renal cancer, but the most common is the ccRCC, which is one of the most aggressive and represents the 75-80% of renal tumors. “One of the main problems of this type of cancer is that it doesn’t show any signs, symptoms or biochemical anomalies for detecting the tumor. In several cases, it is detected incidentally too late, when the possibilities of surviving are less than the 5%. To date, there is not any proceeding for detecting it in the early stages”, explains Dr. Enric Trilla, from the Urology Service at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital.