International Journal of
Medicine and Medical Sciences

  • Abbreviation: Int. J. Med. Med. Sci.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 2006-9723
  • DOI: 10.5897/IJMMS
  • Start Year: 2009
  • Published Articles: 534

Full Length Research Paper

Diagnostic modeling with differences in plasma amino acid profiles between non-cachectic colorectal/breast cancer patients and healthy individuals

Naoyuki Okamoto
  • Naoyuki Okamoto
  • Cancer Prevention and Cancer Control Division, Kanagawa Cancer Center, 1-1-2, Nakao, Asahi-ku, Yokohama-city, 241-0815 Japan.
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Yohei Miyagi
  • Yohei Miyagi
  • Moleculer Pathology and Genetics Division, Kanagawa Cancer Center, 1-1-2, Nakao, Asahi-ku, Yokohama-city, 241-0815 Japan.
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Akihiko Chiba
  • Akihiko Chiba
  • Department of Breast Surgery, Kanagawa Cancer Center, 1-1-2, Nakao, Asahi-ku, Yokohama-city, 241-0815 Japan.
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Makoto Akaike
  • Makoto Akaike
  • Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Kanagawa Cancer Center, 1-1-2, Nakao, Asahi-ku, Yokohama-city, 241-0815 Japan.
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Manabu Shiozawa
  • Manabu Shiozawa
  • Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Kanagawa Cancer Center, 1-1-2, Nakao, Asahi-ku, Yokohama-city, 241-0815 Japan.
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Akira Imaizumi
  • Akira Imaizumi
  • Institute of Life Sciences, Ajinomoto CO., Inc., Japan.
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Hiroshi Yamamoto
  • Hiroshi Yamamoto
  • HI Department, Ajinomoto CO., Inc. , Japan.
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Toshihiko Ando
  • Toshihiko Ando
  • Institute of Life Sciences, Ajinomoto CO., Inc., Japan.
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Minoru Yamakado
  • Minoru Yamakado
  • Center for Multiphasic Health Testing and Services, Mitsui Memorial Hospital, Japan.
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Osamu Tochikubo
  • Osamu Tochikubo
  • Department of Public Health, Yokohama City University, Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
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  •  Accepted: 22 December 2008
  •  Published: 31 January 2009

Abstract

Metabolic changes in patients with cancer lead to alterations in their amino-acid balances. Thus, amino-acid profiles may be useful as biomarkers of cancers. This study was conducted to analyze amino-acid profiles in plasma by multivariate analysis, in order to elucidate differences between cancer patients and controls. Venous blood samples were taken from colorectal and breast cancer patients, and healthy controls. Plasma free amino acids were measured by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. No weight loss was observed in any of the cancer patients. Multiple logistic regression models were used to discriminate between cancer patients and controls. The area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for each discriminant score was calculated as 0.860 (95% confidence interval: 0.784 to 0.937) for colorectal cancer and 0.906 (95% CI: 0.845 to 0.967) for breast cancer. The performance of these discriminants was independent of the cancer stage. This study revealed significant differences in plasma amino acid profiles between cancer patients and controls. The development of a cancer alters plasma amino-acid profiles without cachexia or weight loss, and the pattern of change differs between two cancers. Plasma amino-acid profiling might therefore be useful for the early detection of cancer.

 

Key words: amino acid profiles, plasma, screening, cancer, multivariate analysis