Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
LGC Clinical Diagnostics

Download Mobile App




Metabolomics-Based Blood Test Used for Diagnosis of NSCLC

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 22 Jul 2019
A metabolomics-based blood test may reduce the need to rely on low-dose CT (computed tomography) scans for the diagnosis of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

While low-dose CT has shown promise for detecting early stage lung cancer (LuCa), concerns about the adverse health effects of radiation and high cost prevent its use as a population-wide screening tool. More...
Therefore, novel, low-cost, and safe LuCa tests that would prompt patients with suspicious screening results to seek further radiological evaluation are needed.

As part of an effort to develop such screening tests, investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston, MA, USA) used high-resolution magic angle spinning magnetic resonance spectroscopy (HRMAS MRS) to examine human lung cancer metabolomics from 93 paired tissue-serum samples. This method was developed for metabolomic analysis of intact biological tissues and complex fluids. It allows subsequent histopathology analyses of the same tissue samples, enabling spectroscopic data to be interpreted according to tissue pathologies.

Paired specimens examined in this study originated from 42 patients with squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) of the lung, and 51 patients with adenocarcinomas of the lung. Blood samples from 29 healthy volunteers served as controls. The patients included 58 with early (Stage I) lung cancer, and 35 with more advanced disease (Stage II, III, or IV).

Assay results identified serum metabolomic profiles that could predict patient overall survival for all cases, and more importantly for Stage I cases alone, a prediction, which is significant for treatment strategies but currently cannot be achieved by any clinical method. Prolonged survival was associated with relative overexpression of glutamine, valine, and glycine, and relative suppression of glutamate and lipids in serum.

Since HRMAS MRS could also analyze the complex biofluid of serum and obtain spectra of high resolution, tissue and serum metabolomic measures were correlated in order to investigate the associations between metabolites of potential LuCa biomarkers measured from paired tissue and serum samples.

“The uniqueness of our study is that we have paired samples from patients obtained at the same time as surgery. You cannot use CT as a screening tool for every patient or even for every at-risk patient every year, so what we are trying to do is to develop biomarkers from blood samples that could be incorporated into physical exams, and if there is any suspicion of lung cancer, then we would put the patient through CT,” said senior author Dr. Leo L. Cheng, associate biophysicist in the departments of pathology and radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital.

The paper was published in the July 16, 2019, online edition of the journal Scientific Reports.

Related Links:
Massachusetts General Hospital


Gold Member
Troponin T QC
Troponin T Quality Control
Serological Pipet Controller
PIPETBOY GENIUS
New
Host Response Immunoassay Test
MeMed BV
New
Gold Member
Serological Pipets
INTEGRA Serological Pipets
Read the full article by registering today, it's FREE! It's Free!
Register now for FREE to LabMedica.com and get access to news and events that shape the world of Clinical Laboratory Medicine.
  • Free digital version edition of LabMedica International sent by email on regular basis
  • Free print version of LabMedica International magazine (available only outside USA and Canada).
  • Free and unlimited access to back issues of LabMedica International in digital format
  • Free LabMedica International Newsletter sent every week containing the latest news
  • Free breaking news sent via email
  • Free access to Events Calendar
  • Free access to LinkXpress new product services
  • REGISTRATION IS FREE AND EASY!
Click here to Register








DIASOURCE (A Biovendor Company)

Channels

Hematology

view channel
Image: CitoCBC is the world first cartridge-based CBC to be granted CLIA Waived status by FDA (Photo courtesy of CytoChip)

Disposable Cartridge-Based Test Delivers Rapid and Accurate CBC Results

Complete Blood Count (CBC) is one of the most commonly ordered lab tests, crucial for diagnosing diseases, monitoring therapies, and conducting routine health screenings. However, more than 90% of physician... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: A simple blood test could replace surgical biopsies for early detecion of heart transplant rejection (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Blood Test Detects Organ Rejection in Heart Transplant Patients

Following a heart transplant, patients are required to undergo surgical biopsies so that physicians can assess the possibility of organ rejection. Rejection happens when the recipient’s immune system identifies... Read more

Pathology

view channel
These images illustrate how precision oncology Organ Chips recapitulate individual patients’ responses to chemotherapy (Photo courtesy of Wyss Institute at Harvard University)

Cancer Chip Accurately Predicts Patient-Specific Chemotherapy Response

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), one of the two primary types of esophageal cancer, ranks as the sixth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and currently lacks effective targeted therapies.... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.