Biochemical evaluation of Beta-Trace Protein: A newer glomerular filtration Biomarker for Early Detection and Risk Assessment of Chronic Kidney Disease over the older creatinine

Early detection of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is essential for improving clinical outcomes. However, serum creatinine (Scr), the conventional biomarker for estimating glomerular filtration rate (GFR), has notable limitations, particularly in identifying early-stage CKD. This study evaluates beta-trace protein (BTP) as an alternative biomarker for GFR estimation. Both Scr and serum BTP levels were significantly elevated in CKD patients compared to the control group. Notably, serum BTP exhibited a stronger inverse correlation with measured GFR (mGFR) (r = − 0.934) than Scr (r = − 0.46), indicating superior sensitivity to renal function decline. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis further demonstrated that BTP had higher diagnostic accuracy, with an optimal cutoff concentration of 0.63 mg/L yielding a sensitivity of 98.9%, specificity of 100%, and area under the curve (AUC) of 0.993. In contrast, Scr at 0.775 mg/dL showed lower diagnostic performance (sensitivity = 83.3%, specificity = 42.9%, AUC = 0.74). These findings suggest that BTP may offer improved diagnostic precision and earlier detection of CKD compared to Scr, with potential benefits for more accurate GFR estimation and timely clinical intervention.