Affiliation:
1. Department of International Medical Services (IMS), Beijing Tiantan Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
2. Department of Hepatobiliary Spleen and Gastroenterology, Henan Provincial Hospital
of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, China
Abstract
Background:
Malignant ascites is one of the severe complications of hepatocellular
carcinoma, which can be regarded as a unique tumor microenvironment of hepatocellular
carcinoma. The identification of novel biomarkers in malignant ascites could
be crucial to differentiate patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and cirrhotic ascites.
Objective:
The study aimed to distinguish the metabolomics of malignant ascites in patients
with hepatocellular carcinoma from that of non-malignant ascites (cirrhotic
ascites).
Method:
Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was performed to analyze the differentially
distributed biomarkers in patients with malignant ascites and hepatocellular carcinoma
(n = 39), as well as in patients with cirrhotic ascites, which were taken as controls
(n = 36).
Results:
Our results suggest that the key factors associated with pathways, such as
arachidonic acid, phenylalanine, and glutamic acid pathways, are potential ascitic fluidbased
biomarkers for differentiating hepatocellular carcinoma with cirrhosis ascites; the
results also provide a clinical pathophysiological interpretation of biomarkers and
metabolic pathways relevant to disease status.
Conclusion:
Our results suggest that the key factors associated with pathways, such as
arachidonic acid, phenylalanine, and glutamic acid pathways, are potential ascitic fluidbased
biomarkers for differentiating hepatocellular carcinoma with cirrhosis ascites; the
results also provide a clinical pathophysiological interpretation of biomarkers and
metabolic pathways relevant to disease status.
Publisher
Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.
Subject
Pharmacology,Molecular Medicine,Drug Discovery,Biochemistry,Organic Chemistry