Associations between blood metabolite levels and gastrointestinal cancer risk: A preliminary untargeted metabolomics study.

Abstract

Background: Gastrointestinal cancers are among the most commonly diagnosed cancers globally. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) offers distinct advantages in preventing and treating these cancers.

Aim: To investigate the metabolic basis of a common TCM syndrome in gastrointestinal cancers, exploring underlying metabolic mechanisms and identifying potential biomarkers.

Methods: Thirty healthy controls (normal group), 30 patients with gastric cancer (GC), and 30 patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) were enrolled in 2023. Plasma metabolic profiles were detected using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and pathway enrichment analysis was conducted using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes.

Results: Metabolic profiling revealed distinct alterations in gastrointestinal cancers. CRC samples exhibited 455 differentially expressed metabolites (234 upregulated and 221 downregulated). Similarly, GC samples exhibited 459 differentially expressed metabolites (251 upregulated and 208 downregulated). Additionally, 352 shared metabolites were identified among gastrointestinal cancers. Enrichment analysis highlighted the involvement of these shared metabolites in 10 metabolic pathways.

Conclusion: To some extent, this study revealed the metabolomic characteristics of spleen deficiency and blood stasis toxin (PXYD) syndrome in gastrointestinal cancers. It provides the rationale for the "same treatment for different diseases" approach in PXYD syndrome of gastrointestinal cancers, and for identifying potential metabolomics-based biomarkers.