Mass spectrometric approaches have been fundamental to the identification of metabolites associated with steroid hormones, yet this topic has not been reviewed in depth in recent years. To this end, and given the increasing relevance of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) studies on steroid hormones and their metabolites, the present review addresses this subject. This review provides a timely summary of the use of various mass spectrometry-based analytical techniques during the evaluation of steroidal biomarkers in a range of human disease settings. The sensitivity and specificity of these technologies are clearly providing valuable new insights into breast cancer and cardiovascular disease. We aim to contribute to an enhanced understanding of steroid metabolism and how it can be profiled by LC-MS techniques.
Keywords: 1,2-Dihydroxybenzene (benzene catechol); 1,2-Dihydroxybenzene-Quinone; APCI–MS; APPI–MS; Atmospheric-pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry; Atmospheric-pressure photoionization mass spectrometry; CA; CAT; CAT-Q; CID; COMT; Cancer biomarkers; Catechol-O-methyltransferase; Cholesterol metabolites; Cholic acid; Collision-induced dissociation; DCA; Deoxycholic acid; ESI–MS; Electrospray ionization; Estradiol metabolites; FIA; FTMS; Flow injection analysis; Fourier transform mass spectrometry; GC–MS; GP; Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry; Girard P; HPLC–EDC; High performance liquid chromatography–electro-chemical detection; LC–MS; Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry; MALDI-TOF; Mass spectrometry; Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight; N-AcCys; N-acetylcysteine; N-acetyldopamine; N-acetyldopamine-quinone; NADA; NADA-Q; NQO-2; NRH quinone oxidoreductase 2; Resv; Resveratrol; SLOS; SPE; SRM; Selected reaction monitoring; Smith–Lemli–Opitz syndrome; Solid phase extration; TOF; Time-of-flight; UPLC–MS/MS; Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.
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