Predicting the pathological response to neoadjuvant chemoradiation using untargeted metabolomics in locally advanced rectal cancer

Abstract

Purpose The present study aimed to identify a panel of potential metabolite biomarkers to predict tumor response to neoadjuvant chemo-radiation therapy (NCRT) in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). Experimental design Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS)-based untargeted metabolomics was used to profile human serum samples (n = 106) from LARC patients treated with NCRT. The samples were collected from Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center (FUSCC) from July 2014 to January 2016. Statistical methods, such as partial least squares (PLS) and Wilcoxon rank-sum test, were used to identify discriminative metabolites between NCRT-sensitive and NCRT-resistant patients according to their tumor regression grade (TRG). This trial is registered with Clinical Trials.gov, number NCT03149978. Results A panel of metabolites was selected as potential predictive biomarkers of …