Project description:BackgroundUntargeted metabolomics was used in case-control studies of adenocarcinoma (ADC) lung cancer to develop and test metabolite classifiers in serum and plasma as potential biomarkers for diagnosing lung cancer.MethodsSerum and plasma were collected and used in two independent case-control studies (ADC1 and ADC2). Controls were frequency matched for gender, age, and smoking history. There were 52 adenocarcinoma cases and 31 controls in ADC1 and 43 adenocarcinoma cases and 43 controls in ADC2. Metabolomics was conducted using gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Differential analysis was performed on ADC1 and the top candidates (FDR < 0.05) for serum and plasma used to develop individual and multiplex classifiers that were then tested on an independent set of serum and plasma samples (ADC2).ResultsAspartate provided the best accuracy (81.4%) for an individual metabolite classifier in serum, whereas pyrophosphate had the best accuracy (77.9%) in plasma when independently tested. Multiplex classifiers of either 2 or 4 serum metabolites had an accuracy of 72.7% when independently tested. For plasma, a multimetabolite classifier consisting of 8 metabolites gave an accuracy of 77.3% when independently tested. Comparison of overall diagnostic performance between the two blood matrices yielded similar performances. However, serum is most ideal given higher sensitivity for low-abundant metabolites.ConclusionThis study shows the potential of metabolite-based diagnostic tests for detection of lung adenocarcinoma. Further validation in a larger pool of samples is warranted.ImpactThese biomarkers could improve early detection and diagnosis of lung cancer.
Project description:Recently, the National Lung Cancer Screen Trial (NLST) demonstrated that low-dose CT (LDCT) screening could reduce mortality due to lung cancer by 20percent. However, LDCT screening is largely hindered by high false-positive rates (96 percent), particularly in high risk populations (heavy smokers), due to the low prevalence rates (less than 2percent) of malignant tumors and high incidence of benign lung nodules. Consequently, complementary biomarkers that can be used in conjunction with LDCT screening to improve diagnostic capacities and reduce false-positive rates are highly desirable. Preferably, such complementary tools should be noninvasive and exhibit high sensitivity and specificity. The application of omic sciences (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) represents valuable tools for the discovery and validation of potential biomarkers that can be used for detection of NSCLC. Of these omic sciences, metabolomics has received considerable attention for its application in cancer. Metabolomics is the assessment of small molecules and biochemical intermediates (metabolites) using analytic instrumentation. Metabolites in blood are the product of all cellular processes, which are highly responsive to conditions of disease and environment, and represent the final output products of all organs forming a detailed systemic representation of an individual's current physiologic state. In this study, we used an untargeted metabolomics approach using gas chromatography time of flight mass spectrometry (GCTOFMS) to analyze the metabolome of serum and plasma samples both collected from the same patients that were organized into two independent case control studies (ADC1 and ADC2). In both studies, only NSCLC adenocarcinoma was investigated. The overall objectives were to (i) determine whether individual or combinations of metabolites could be used as a diagnostic test to distinguish NSCLC adenocarcinoma from controls and (ii) to determine which, plasma or serum, provides more accurate classifiers for the detection of lung cancer. We developed individual and multimetabolite classifiers using a training test from the ADC1 study and evaluated the performance of the constructed classifiers, individually or in combination, in an independent test/validation study (ADC2). This study shows the potential of metabolite-based diagnostic tests for detection of lung adenocarcinoma. Further validation in a larger pool of samples is warranted.
Project description:SS = Sigma sample and is used as a quality control The first set (ADC1) used for biomarker development consisted of serum and plasma samples obtained from 52 stages I to IV NSCLC adenocarcinoma patients (52 plasma and 49 serum), and 31 healthy controls (31 pairs of serum and plasma) for a total of 163 samples. This set was regarded as the training set for biomarker discovery and classifier development. A second, independent case control study (ADC2) consisting of serum and plasma samples collected from 43 stage I to IV NSCLC adenocarcinoma patients and 43 healthy controls (total 172 samples) was used as an independent test set for biomarker evaluation. A limitation of this study is the relatively small sample size for each cohort 52 cases, 31 controls for ADC1, and 43 cases and 43 controls for ADC2 because patient variability can be a big factor in smaller studies.
Project description:Lung cancer is a prevalent cancer type worldwide that often remains asymptomatic in its early stages and is frequently diagnosed at an advanced stage with a poor prognosis due to the lack of effective diagnostic techniques and molecular biomarkers. However, emerging evidence suggests that extracellular vesicles (EVs) may promote lung cancer cell proliferation and metastasis, and modulate the anti-tumor immune response in lung cancer carcinogenesis, making them potential biomarkers for early cancer detection. To investigate the potential of urinary EVs for non-invasive detection and screening of patients at early stages, we studied metabolomic signatures of lung cancer. Specifically, we conducted metabolomic analysis of 102 EV samples and identified metabolome profiles of urinary EVs, including organic acids and derivatives, lipids and lipid-like molecules, organheterocyclic compounds, and benzenoids. Using machine learning with a random forest model, we screened for potential markers of lung cancer and identified a marker panel consisting of Kanzonol Z, Xanthosine, Nervonyl carnitine, and 3,4-Dihydroxybenzaldehyde, which exhibited a diagnostic potency of 96% for the testing cohort (AUC value). Importantly, this marker panel also demonstrated effective prediction for the validation set, with an AUC value of 84%, indicating the reliability of the marker screening process. Our findings suggest that the metabolomic analysis of urinary EVs provides a promising source of non-invasive markers for lung cancer diagnostics. We believe that the EV metabolic signatures could be used to develop clinical applications for the early detection and screening of lung cancer, potentially improving patient outcomes.
Project description:Endometrial cancer is the most common malignancy of the female genital tract and a major cause of morbidity and mortality in women. Early detection is key to ensuring good outcomes but a lack of minimally invasive screening tools is a significant barrier. Most endometrial cancers are obesity-driven and develop in the context of severe metabolomic dysfunction. Blood-derived metabolites may therefore provide clinically relevant biomarkers for endometrial cancer detection. In this study, we analysed plasma samples of women with body mass index (BMI) ≥30kg/m2 and endometrioid endometrial cancer (cases, n = 67) or histologically normal endometrium (controls, n = 69), using a mass spectrometry-based metabolomics approach. Eighty percent of the samples were randomly selected to serve as a training set and the remaining 20% were used to qualify test performance. Robust predictive models (AUC > 0.9) for endometrial cancer detection based on artificial intelligence algorithms were developed and validated. Phospholipids were of significance as biomarkers of endometrial cancer, with sphingolipids (sphingomyelins) discriminatory in post-menopausal women. An algorithm combining the top ten performing metabolites showed 92.6% prediction accuracy (AUC of 0.95) for endometrial cancer detection. These results suggest that a simple blood test could enable the early detection of endometrial cancer and provide the basis for a minimally invasive screening tool for women with a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2.
Project description:Lung cancer is the leading cause of human cancer mortality due to the lack of early diagnosis technology. The low-dose computed tomography scan (LDCT) is one of the main techniques to screen cancers. However, LDCT still has a risk of radiation exposure and it is not suitable for the general public. In this study, plasma metabolic profiles of lung cancer were performed using a comprehensive metabolomic method with different liquid chromatography methods coupled with a Q-Exactive high-resolution mass spectrometer. Metabolites with different polarities (amino acids, fatty acids, and acylcarnitines) can be detected and identified as differential metabolites of lung cancer in small volumes of plasma. Logistic regression models were further developed to identify cancer stages and types using those significant biomarkers. Using the Variable Importance in Projection (VIP) and the area under the curve (AUC) scores, we have successfully identified the top 5, 10, and 20 metabolites that can be used to differentiate lung cancer stages and types. The discrimination accuracy and AUC score can be as high as 0.829 and 0.869 using the five most significant metabolites. This study demonstrated that using 5 + metabolites (Palmitic acid, Heptadecanoic acid, 4-Oxoproline, Tridecanoic acid, Ornithine, and etc.) has the potential for early lung cancer screening. This finding is useful for transferring the diagnostic technology onto a point-of-care device for lung cancer diagnosis and prognosis.
Project description:ObjectiveTo identify robust markers of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) using DNA methylation profiles from blood samples informed by tissue lung adenocarcinoma.MethodsThis study analyzed 56 LUAD blood samples from patients attending clinic at Siriraj Hospital, Thailand and 51 samples from healthy participants, using 644 tumor and 59 normal tissue methylome datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases for candidate gene identification. We performed comparative analysis to identify DNA methylation (DNAm) changes present in tumors that are also observable in blood, to be taken forward for validation.ResultsDNAm profiling of lung tumor datasets identified 59,639 differentially methylated positions (DMPs), of which 17,251 exhibited a negative correlation with gene expression. In blood samples, 46,680 DMPs were identified among LUAD patients, which were enriched in pathways associated with the ribosome, spliceosome, cell cycle, ubiquitin mediated proteolysis and nucleocytoplasmic transport. Comparative analysis revealed a two DMP epigenetic signature of matching changes in both tissue and blood. This signature offered high diagnostic performance in distinguishing LUAD from normal lung tissue (AUC: 0.77-0.91) and in blood samples from LUAD patients (AUC:0.92-0.96). Similarly high performance was observed in two independent tissue validation datasets (AUC:0.90-0.92).ConclusionsOur novel two DMP signatures offer robust performance in both lung tissue and blood for the identification of LUAD.
Project description:BackgroundSmall cell lung cancer (SCLC) is highly aggressive with limited therapeutic options and a poor prognosis. Moreover, noninvasive biomarker tools for detecting disease and monitoring treatment response are lacking. To address this, we evaluated serum biomarkers of extracellular matrix proteins not previously explored in SCLC.MethodsWe measured biomarkers in the serum of 16 patients with SCLC before and after chemotherapy as well as in the serum of 11 healthy individuals.ResultsOur findings demonstrated that SCLC serum had higher levels of collagen type I degradation, collagen type III formation, and collagen type XI formation than healthy controls. In addition, we observed higher levels of type XIX and XXII collagens, fibrinogen, and von Willebrand factor A formation in SCLC serum. The formation of type I collagen did not exhibit any discernible variation. However, we observed a decrease in the degradation of type I collagen following chemotherapy.ConclusionOverall, our findings revealed elevated levels of collagen and blood-clotting markers in the serum of SCLC patients, indicating the potential of ECM proteins as noninvasive biomarkers for SCLC.