Metabolomics Profiling on Different Stages of Colorectal Cancer: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Early diagnosis and accurate staging of the disease is vital to improve the prognosis. Metabolomics has been used to identify changes in metabolite profiles in the different stages of cancer in order to introduce new non-invasive molecular tools for staging. In this systematic review, we aim to identify the common metabolite changes in human biological samples and the dominant metabolic pathways associated with CRC progression. A broad systematic search was carried out from selected databases. Four reviewers screened and reviewed the titles, abstracts, and full-text articles according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Quality assessment was conducted on the eight articles which met the criteria. Data showed that the metabolites involved with redox status, energy metabolism and intermediates of amino acids, choline and nucleotides metabolism were the most affected during CRC progression. However, there were differences in the levels of individual metabolites detected between the studies, and this might be due to the study population, sample preparation, analytical platforms used and statistical tools. In conclusion, this systematic review highlights the changes in metabolites from early to late stages of CRC. Moreover, biomarkers for prognosis are important to reduce CRC-related mortality.

Untargeted Metabolomics Reveals Major Differences in the Plasma Metabolome between Colorectal Cancer and Colorectal Adenomas

“…Of note, pathway analyses are usually not fully comprehensive and complete per se, but assist in forming new hypotheses and estimating pathway level differences based on generated metabolomics data. Conflicting results in metabolite levels reported from various studies might arise from different study populations, sample collection and preparation, analytical platforms and statistical approaches applied [ 15 ]. To date, no clear recommendation on standardizing metabolomics analyses has been released.…”

“…Increasing both selectivity and data content, LC-MS has emerged as a leading technology for complex metabolomics samples such as human blood [ 13 ]. Differences in metabolite profiles along colorectal carcinogenesis have been reported using serum, plasma, tissue, or fecal samples [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. These previous studies often yield inconsistent findings or small sample sizes, indicating the necessity to extend or confirm current hypotheses.…”

Metabolic Profiling of Praziquantel-mediated Prevention ofOpisthorchis viverrini-induced Cholangiocyte Transformation in the Hamster Model of Cholangiocarcinoma

“…Moreover, the acetate level was found to be reduced in the urine of patients with prostate cancer (52) in whom acetate might be used by cancer cells as a source of lipid biosynthesis in tumors (53). Moreover, the acetate level was found to be reduced in the feces of patients with colorectal cancer, which was caused by a disturbance of the intestinal microbiota and host tissues associated with colorectal tumorigenesis (17). In addition, acetate treatment significantly suppressed histone deacetylase activity and enhanced global histone acetylation in human macrophages, corresponding to a decrease in inflammatory cytokines, including IL6, IL8, and tumor necrosis factor-α production (54).…”

“…In cancer research, metabolomics are used to identify potential biomarkers for early detection and diagnosis, and predictive markers for drug responses and treatment monitoring and evaluation (15). Several metabolites related to metabolic pathway alteration were identified as potential biomarkers for detection of many types of cancer, such as gastric (16), colorectal (17), breast (18), pancreatic (19), and prostatic cancer (20). Moreover, metabolomics can be used to obtain a more thorough understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying carcinogenesis (13).…”

Optimisation of Urine Sample Preparation for Headspace-Solid Phase Microextraction Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry: Altering Sample pH, Sulphuric Acid Concentration and Phase Ratio

“…Urinary VOCs have unsurprisingly been proposed to be useful to detect metabolic changes in conditions involved in urological systems, for example, urinary tract infection [13], minimal change type nephrotic syndrome [14], and urological cancer detection (kidney, renal cell carcinoma, and bladder) [1,[15][16][17]. Moreover, urinary VOCs have also been proposed for the detection of a wide range of other cancers outside the urological systems [18,19], including colorectal cancer [20], head and neck cancer [21], and lung cancer [22]).…”