This chapter introduces the emerging field of metabolomics and its application in the context of cancer biomarker research. Taking advantage of modern high-throughput technologies, and enhanced computational power, metabolomics has a high potential for cancer biomarker identification and the development of diagnostic tools. This chapter describes current metabolomics technologies used in cancer research, starting with metabolomics sample preparation, elaborating on current analytical methodologies for metabolomics measurement and introducing existing software for data analysis. The last part of this chapter deals with the statistical analysis of very large metabolomics datasets and their relevance for cancer biomarker identification.
Keywords: Analysis of body fluids; Biomarker determination; Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF); Data normalization; Diagnostic tool; Feces analysis; Gas chromatography; High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC); Liquid chromatography; Mass spectrometry; Metabolite extraction; Metabolites; Metabolomics; Metabolomics data analysis tools; Metabolomics datasets; Metabolomics technologies; Metabolomics workflow; NMR spectroscopy; Plasma analysis; Primary metabolites; Saliva analysis; Secondary metabolites; Serum analysis; Statistical analysis; Urine analysis.