Articles

Metabolomic analysis of gynaecological cancer: identification of novel biomarkers using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

ABSTRACT

Objective. This study aimed to identify novel biomarkers for gynecological cancers – including ovarian, cervical, and endometrial cancers – using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Materials and Methods. A case-control study was conducted with 16 Japanese women as controls and 73 women diagnosed with gynecological cancers. Urine and serum samples were analyzed for 90 metabolites, including amino acids, organic acids, sugars, fatty acids, and tricarboxylic acid cycle components.

Results. Significant variations were observed in numerous metabolites between the control group and patients with ovarian, cervical, and endometrial cancers. Notably, levels of glutamine, 1,5‑anhydroglucitol (1,5‑AG), and lactate differed significantly according to the Kruskal-Wallis test. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) values for urine and serum glutamine ranged from 0.764 to 0.895 across the three cancer types. For 1,5‑AG, the AUC values were 0.852-0.896 for urine samples and 1.000 for serum samples. Lactate yielded AUC values ranging from 0.727 to 0.924 in urine and serum samples.

Conclusions. This study demonstrated clear differences in metabolites between controls and gynecological cancer patients. Glutamine, 1,5‑AG, and lactate may serve as useful biomarkers for ovarian, cervical, and endometrial cancers.

Key words

Biomarker; cervical neoplasm; endometrial neoplasm; gas chromatography–mass spectrometry; ovarian neoplasm.

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