Application of metabolomics in clinical and laboratory gastrointestinal oncology

Abstract

Metabolites are versatile bioactive molecules. They are not only the substrates and/or the products of enzymatic reactions but also act as the regulators in the systemic metabolism. Metabolomics is a high-throughput analytical strategy to qualify or quantify as many metabolites as possible in the metabolomes. It is an indispensable part of systems biology. The leading techniques in this field are mainly based on mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The metabolomic analysis has gained wide use in bioscience fields. In the tumor research arena, metabolomics can be employed to identify biomarkers for prediction, diagnosis, and prognosis. Chemotherapeutic effect evaluation and personalized medicine decision-making can also benefit from metabolomic analysis of patient biofluid or biopsy samples. Many cell-level studies can help in disease exploration. In this review, the basic features and principles of varied metabolomic analysis are introduced. The value of metabolomics in clinical and laboratory gastrointestinal cancer studies is discussed, especially for mass spectrometry applications. Besides, combined use of metabolomics and other tools to solve problems in cancer practice is briefly illustrated. In summary, metabolomics paves a new way to explore cancerous diseases in the light of small molecules.

Keywords: Metabolomics; Biomarker; Mass spectrometry; Metabolite; Gastrointestinal cancer; Diagnosis

Core Tip: Genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics aim to study the macro-molecules. As a complement to systems biology, metabolomics paves a new way to explore cancerous diseases concerning temporal changes of small molecules. The metabolome is phenotype-specific. Metabolome reflects the organism's responses to environmental stimuli very directly and sensitively.