Metabolic Changes in Early-Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients after Surgical Resection

  • Cancers (Basel). 2021 Jun 16;13(12):3012. doi: 10.3390/cancers13123012.
Naseer Ahmed  1  2 ,  Biniam Kidane  1  3  4 ,  Le Wang  5  6 ,  Zoann Nugent  5 ,  Nataliya Moldovan  2 ,  April McElrea  6 ,  Shiva Shariati-Ievari  6 ,  Gefei Qing  7 ,  Lawrence Tan  4 ,  Gordon Buduhan  4 ,  Sadeesh K Srinathan  4 ,  Michel Aliani  6  8
Affiliations
  • 1. Research Institute in Oncology and Hematology, CancerCare Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3E 0V9, Canada.
  • 2. Department of Radiology, Section of Radiation Oncology, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada.
  • 3. Department of Community Health Sciences, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3E 0W3, Canada.
  • 4. Department of Surgery, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3A 1R9, Canada.
  • 5. CancerCare Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3E 0V9, Canada.
  • 6. St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre, Winnipeg, MB R2H 2A6, Canada.
  • 7. Department of Pathology, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3E 3P5, Canada.
  • 8. Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada.
PMID: 34208545 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13123012
Abstract

Metabolic alterations in malignant cells play a vital role in tumor initiation, proliferation, and metastasis. Biofluids from patients with non-small cell lung Cancer (NSCLC) harbor metabolic biomarkers with potential clinical applications. In this study, we assessed the changes in the metabolic profile of patients with early-stage NSCLC using mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy before and after surgical resection. A single cohort of 35 patients provided a total of 29 and 32 pairs of urine and serum samples, respectively, pre-and post-surgery. We identified a profile of 48 metabolites that were significantly different pre- and post-surgery: 17 in urine and 31 in serum. A higher proportion of metabolites were upregulated than downregulated post-surgery (p < 0.01); however, the median fold change (FC) was higher for downregulated than upregulated metabolites (p < 0.05). Purines/pyrimidines and proteins had a larger dysregulation than Other classes of metabolites (p < 0.05 for each class). Several of the dysregulated metabolites have been previously associated with Cancer, including leucyl proline, asymmetric dimethylarginine, isopentenyladenine, fumaric acid (all downregulated post-surgery), as well as N6-methyladenosine and several deoxycholic acid moieties, which were upregulated post-surgery. This study establishes metabolomic analysis of biofluids as a path to non-invasive diagnostics, screening, and monitoring in NSCLC.

Keywords
biofluids; lung cancer; metabolomics; surgical resection.
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