Metabolomic profiling in blood of pancreatic cancer patients

Abstract

Background Pancreatic cancer has a poor prognosis. One of the reasons is that it is difficult to diagnose early. There has been abundant evidence that malignant cells rewire their metabolism to survive and proliferate. This study examined differentia of metabolomic profiling between patients with advanced pancreatic cancers and volunteers without ones. Methods Ten patients and 10 volunteers who aged 20 years or older were enrolled between May and December 2015. The patients had been confirmed as pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cytologically or histologically. The volunteers were those who had examined abdomen CT during their health screenings and had no evidence suggesting pancreatic cancer. Blood plasma samples were derivatized and analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). GC-MS (Agilent 5975C MSD + 7890A GC) data produced by untargeted method were analyzed by statistical methods including principal Component Analyses (PCA). Results Lactic acid showed significantly high concentration with fold change of 3.23 in patients group (P ≤ 0.0001). 1,5-Anhydroglucitol was decreased with fold change of 2.94 in patients group (P ≤ 0.0001). Conclusion This study suggest that pancreatic cancer patients could have different metabolomic profiling from normal population. Further investigation is required for the development of early diagnosis as well exploration of potentially therapeutic target.