A Metabolomic Approach to the
Identification of Cancer
Biomarkers
Clive Baveghems
Bioanalytical Chemistry
Spring 2011
Outline
• What is Metabolomics?
• Metabolomic screening for the
identification of cancer biomarkers
• Metabolomic screening for the
identification of prostate cancer
biomarkers
Introduction to Metabolomics
Sawyer, J. Surg. Oncol. 2010; 21831: 2
Yearly increase in Metabolomics
publications
Note: 2010 total ~ 750
Ong, Trends in Analytical Chemistry 2010; 29(3):270
Factors influencing the
Metabolome
Sawyer, J. Surg. Oncol. 2010; 21831: 2
Outline
• What is Metabolomics?√
• Metabolomic screening for the
identification of cancer biomarkers
• Metabolomic screening for the
identification of prostate cancer
biomarkers
Biomarker Identification
Sawyer, J. Surg. Oncol. 2010; 21831: 4
Cancer biomarkers identified so far
Sawyer, J. Surg. Oncol. 2010; 21831: 5
Key Metabolites implicated so far
Sawyer, J. Surg. Oncol. 2010; 21831: 6
Outline
• What is Metabolomics?√
• Metabolomic screening for the
identification of cancer biomarkers√
• Metabolomic screening for the
identification of prostate cancer
biomarkers
Prostate Cancer
• From 2003-2007 median age for diagnosis
was 67
• The age-adjusted incidence rate was
156.9/100, 000 men per year
• The median age at death was 80
• The age-adjusted death rate was
24.7/100, 000 men per year
http://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/prost.html
Results from LC and GC-MS
Chinnaiyan, Nature 2009; 457(12): 911
Sarcosine identified as a biomarker
for prostate cancer
Chinnaiyan, Nature 2009; 457(12): 913
Is sarcosine a biomarker for
prostate cancer?
GC-MS data
Jung, Journal of Urology 2011; 185: 708
Summary
• Metabolomics has emerged as a fast and
efficient method for the identification of a
small set of candidate biomarkers from a
large eclectic data set
• LC/MS, GC/MS, and NMR are important
metabolomic technologies
• Future studies will further explain
sarcosine’s role in Prostate Cancer
References
• Metabolomics and Surgical Oncology: Potential Role for Small
Molecule Biomarkers
Sawyer, J. Surg. Oncol. 2010; 21831: 1-9
• Metabolomic profiles delineate potential role for sarcosine in
prostate cancer progression
Chinnaiyan, Nature 2009; 457(12): 910-915
• Sarcosine in Prostate Cancer Tissue is Not a Differential
Metabolite for Prostate Cancer Progressiveness and
Biochemical Progression Jung, Journal of Urology 2011; 185: 706-711
• Experiment-originated variations, and multi-peak and mutiorigination phenomena in derivatization-based GC-MS
metabolomics Ong, Trends in Analytical Chemistry 2010; 29(3):269-280