IBS GRANADA scientists determine a group of biomarkers that could be a “fingerprint” to diagnose metastatic colon cancer
Colon cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death worldwide, and new biomarkers are urgently needed for early diagnosis and treatment. Metabolomics studies using liquid chromatography together with high-resolution mass spectrometry offer a powerful diagnostic tool for this type of tumor.
The study proposes a "metabolic signature" in blood that can detect metastatic colon cancer and could represent a new therapeutic target.
A multidisciplinary team of scientists from the technology group applied to oncology and gene therapy of the ibs.GRANADA, of the departments of Human Anatomy and Embryology of the University of Granada, the Center of Excellence in Research of Innovative Medicines in Andalusia (Medina Foundation) and members of the Digestive Tumor Treatment Group of the Virgen de las Nieves Hospital in Granada has developed a new system to detect the presence of metastatic colon cancer in a patient by using a group of metabolites in the serum of patients.
The researchers from the ibs.GRANADA and the University of Granada, Octavio Caba Perez y Jose Carlos Prados Salazar and the Center of Excellence in Research on Innovative Medicines in Andalusia (Fundación Medina), Francesca Vincent y Jose Perez del Palacio with the collaboration Encarna Gonzalez Flores, Hospital Virgen de las Nieves, have obtained funding and led this project that demonstrates that the quantification of certain metabolites in body fluids by liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry in an undirected metabolic approach, allow the detection of changes in their concentrations that in a global way can be considered as a differential metabolic signature for metastatic colon cancer.
The use of metabolomics to identify and quantify metabolites in body fluids can allow the detection of changes in their concentrations that could serve as diagnostic markers for colorectal cancer and may also represent new therapeutic targets. Metabolomics generates a pathophysiological "fingerprint" that is unique to each individual.
The purpose of this study was to identify a differential metabolic signature for metastatic colorectal cancer. Serum samples from 60 healthy controls and 65 patients with metastatic colon cancer were studied by liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry in an undirected metabolic approach. The results have been published in the prestigious journal of the Nature Group scientific report.
Colon cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer death. Although its appearance and development is quite well characterized following a known sequence from the transformation of normal epithelium to the appearance of cancer (adenocarcinoma), there is a lack of biomarkers that are capable of detecting it in its different stages.
The progression of this disease involves numerous genetic and epigenetic events that involve, among other things, a reprogramming of cellular metabolism that allows these altered cells to divide indefinitely. In this context, we know that numerous metabolic enzymes alter their functioning, generating a cascade of events that result in the modification of the levels of certain metabolites in the body fluids of patients.
Metabolomics is a powerful tool that assesses the concentrations of low-molecular-weight molecules in biological matrices and can be used to generate "metabolic fingerprints" of individuals and diseases. The sensitivity and metabolic coverage of this process have been increased by combining metabolomics with high-resolution mass spectrometry.
The team of scientists from the ibs.GRANADA, the University of Granada and the Center of Excellence in Research on Innovative Medicines in Andalusia, using a multivariate analysis, has shown a clear distinction between patients with metastatic colon cancer and healthy people, based on serum concentrations of glycerophospholipid, sphingolipid, and endocannabinoid-like metabolites.
These findings demonstrate that liquid chromatographic metabolomics, in conjunction with high-resolution mass spectrometry, offers a powerful diagnostic tool for metastatic colon cancer.
Bibliographic reference:
Untargeted LC-HRMS-based metabolomics to identify novel biomarkers of metastatic colorectal cancer.
Martín-Blázquez A, Díaz C, González-Flores E, Franco-Rivas D, Jiménez-Luna C, Melguizo C, Prados J, Genilloud O, Vicente F, Caba O, Pérez Del Palacio J.
Sci Rep. 2019 Dec 27; 9 (1): 20198. doi: 10.1038 / s41598-019-55952-8.
