Diagnostic Value of¹H NMR-Based Metabolomics in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Acute Myeloid Leukemia, and Breast Cancer

Abstract

Cancer refers to a massive number of diseases distinguished by the development of abnormal cells that divide uncontrollably and have the capability of infiltration and destroying the normal body tissue. It is critical to detect biomarkers that are early detectable and noninvasive to save millions of lives. The aim of the present work is to use NMR as a noninvasive diagnostic tool for cancer diseases. This study included 30 plasma and 21 urine samples of patients diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), 25 plasma and 17 urine samples of patients diagnosed with breast cancer (BC), and 9 plasma and urine samples obtained from healthy individuals as controls. They were prepared for NMR measurements; then, the metabolites were identified and the data were analyzed using multivariate statistical procedures. The OPLS-DA score plots clearly discriminated ALL, AML, and BC from healthy controls. Plots of the PLS-DA loadings and S-line plots showed that all metabolites in plasma were greater in BC than in the healthy controls, whereas lactate, O-acetylcarnitine, pyruvate, trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), and glucose were higher in healthy controls than in ALL and AML. On the other hand, urine samples showed lower amounts of lactate, melatonin, pyruvate, and succinate in all of the studied types of cancer when compared to those of healthy controls. 1 H NMR can be a successful and noninvasive tool for the diagnosis of different types of cancer.

Metabolomic study of serum in patients with invasive ductal breast carcinoma with LC-MS/MS approach

“…Lécuyer et al 31 reported that women characterized by higher fasting plasma levels of arginine had a higher risk of developing breast cancer. An increased arginine level was also observed in the study of Morad et al 32 in plasma samples of breast cancer patients. They also observed alterations of proline and carnitine similar to our results.…”

The Role of Amino Acids in the Diagnosis, Risk Assessment, and Treatment of Breast Cancer: A Review

“…For example, Kubota et al showed that in breast cancer, the total content of amino acids (TAA) in plasma increases (3035 ± 118 vs. 2529 ± 115 nmol/mL), as do the contents of all major groups of amino acids: essential amino acids (EAAs), branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), aromatic amino acids (AAAs), and gluconeogenic amino acids (GAAs) [ 44 ]. Similarly, a number of studies have also noted an increase in the amino acid content compared to healthy controls [ 50 , 61 ]. According to other data, in patients with breast cancer, a decrease in the plasma levels of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) was observed [ 57 ].…”

Metabolomics in oncology

“…Despite the fact that advanced analytic procedures are required, these signatures are practical and accurate. Metabolomics has been shown to be a reliable diagnostic tool for leukemia and breast cancer, respectively 159 . Genome microarrays and serum protein profiles have been used in the past to diagnose colon and ovarian cancers, respectively.…”

“…Metabolomics has been shown to be a reliable diagnostic tool for leukemia and breast cancer, respectively. 159 Genome microarrays and serum protein profiles have been used in the past to diagnose colon and ovarian cancers, respectively. Metabolomics can be helpful in malignancies that are difficult to diagnose.…”