Serum level of octanoic acid predicts the efficacy of chemotherapy for colorectal cancer

Abstract

The survival times of patients with advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) have increased due to the introduction of chemotherapy involving irinotecan and cetuximab. However, further studies are required on the effective pretreatment methods for identifying patients with CRC who would respond to particular treatments. The aim of the present study was to identify biomarkers for predicting the efficacy of chemotherapy for CRC. A total of 123 serum samples were collected from 31 patients with CRC just prior to each of the first four rounds of chemotherapy. Serum metabolome analysis was performed using a multiplatform metabolomics system, and univariate Cox regression hazards analysis of the time to disease progression was conducted. Octanoic acid and 1,5-anhydro-D-glucitol were identified as biomarker candidates. In addition, the serum level of octanoic acid was indicated to be significantly associated with the time to disease progression (hazard ratio, 3.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.099–11.840; P=0.033). The serum levels of fatty acids, in particular polyunsaturated fatty acids, tended to be downregulated in the partial response group. The findings of the present study suggest that the serum level of octanoic acid may serve as a useful predictor for the prognosis of CRC.

Free Fatty Acids Signature in Human Intestinal Disorders: Significant Association between Butyric Acid and Celiac Disease

“…In addition, Iemoto et al documented that the serum level of octanoic acid was significantly associated with disease progression, so it may serve as a useful predictor for CRC prognosis [45].…”

Abrogation of esophageal carcinoma development in miR-31 knockout rats

“…Few studies have investigated whether metabolite biomarkers can be used to predict the efficacy of cancer treatment (43). Our analysis of ZD:antimiR/20-wk vs. ZS:CTRL esophagus yielded 95 significantly altered metabolites (SI Appendix, Table S3).…”

Targeting Long Chain Acyl-CoA Synthetases for Cancer Therapy

“…Lipid metabolism is a wide and intertwined network that mediates multiple functions, such as energy production [1], thermoregulation [2] and the synthesis of signaling molecules [3], while studies have demonstrated that abnormal levels of lipids contribute to numerous pathologies such as cardiovascular diseases, metabolic diseases and cancer [4]. Fatty acid imbalances have a prognostic value, as their levels in serum can act as tumor biomarkers, or they can predict responses to therapy in multiple cancer types, including leukemia [5], non-small cell lung cancer [6,7], breast cancer [8] and colorectal cancer [9,10].…”