Fendereski K, Nabighadim A, Seyedtabib M, et al. - In the present study, the researchers sought to assess and compare the efficacy of urinary carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), and kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) biomarkers as predictive factors to determine the need for surgery in patients with ureteropelvic junction obstruction. Urine samples were collected from 161 patients at diagnosis and their levels of the three biomarkers were assessed. The non-surgery group involved 60 male and 22 female patients with a mean age of 21 months, whereas the surgery group included 58 boys and 21 girls with a mean age of 26.9 months with no significant difference of age and gender between the two groups. Evaluations indicate the higher efficacy of CA19-9 relative to other biomarkers to predict the need for surgical intervention, as well as a strong association between kidney function deterioration and urinary CA19-9 and NGAL. In addition to future studies determining the relationship between markers and kidney fibrosis, the findings of this investigation may pave the way for more detailed clinical application of these urinary biomarkers.