LC–MS metabolomics analysis of serum metabolites during neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced rectal cancer

• Qiliang Peng ^[2] ; Lili Jiang ^[3] ; Yi Shen ^[1] ; Yao Xu ^[4] ; Xinan Shen ^[2] ; Li Zou ^[2] ; Yaqun Zhu ^[2] ; Yuntian Shen ^[2]
  1. [1] Nanjing University

     Nanjing University

     China

     
  2. [2] Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, The Second Afliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China
  3. [3] Department of Oncology, Nantong Haimen District People’s Hospital, Jiangsu, China
  4. [4] Department of Radiology, The Second Afliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China

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• Localización: Clinical & translational oncology, ISSN 1699-048X, Vol. 26, Nº. 12, 2024, págs. 3150-3168
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Background This study aimed to investigate the serum metabolite profles during neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) metabolomics analysis.

    Methods 60 serum samples were collected from 20 patients with LARC before, during, and after radiotherapy. LC–MS metabolomics analysis was performed to identify the metabolite variations. Functional annotation was applied to discover altered metabolic pathways. The key metabolites were screened and their ability to predict sensitivity to radiotherapy was calculated using random forests and ROC curves.

    Results The results showed that NCRT led to signifcant changes in the serum metabolite profles. The serum metabolic profles showed an apparent separation between diferent time points and diferent sensitivity groups. Moreover, the functional annotation showed that the diferential metabolites were associated with a series of important metabolic pathways. Pre-radiotherapy (3Z,6Z)-3,6-Nonadiena and pro-radiotherapy 1-Hydroxyibuprofen showed good predictive performance in discriminating the sensitive and non-sensitive group to NCRT, with an AUC of 0.812 and 0.75, respectively. Importantly, the combination of diferent metabolites signifcantly increased the predictive ability.

    Conclusion This study demonstrated the potential of LC–MS metabolomics for revealing the serum metabolite profles during NCRT in LARC. The identifed metabolites may serve as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for the management of this disease. Furthermore, the understanding of the afected metabolic pathways may help design more personalized therapeutic strategies for LARC patients.