Metabolite normalization with local radiotherapy following breast tumor resection

PLoS One. 2018 Nov 16;13(11):e0207474. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0207474. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

The aims of this study were to investigate changes in energy balance-associated metabolites associated with radiotherapy in patients with breast cancer, and to relate these changes to the clinical and pathological response-to-treatment. We studied 151 women with breast cancer who received radiotherapy following surgical excision of the tumor. Blood was obtained before and after the irradiation procedure. The control group was composed of 44 healthy women with a similar age distribution to that of the patients. We analyzed the concentrations of metabolites involved in glycolysis, citric acid cycle and amino acid metabolism using targeted quantitative metabolomics. Post-surgery, pre-radiotherapy, patients had major alterations in the serum concentrations of products of glycolysis, citric acid cycle and amino acid metabolism. The strongest alterations were decreases in serine, leucine and isoleucine concentrations. Alterations in metabolite levels were partially, or totally, reversed after irradiation; the concentrations of serine, leucine and isoleucine approached equivalence to those of the control group. Estrogen receptor-positive patients were those with lower concentrations, while triple negative patients had higher concentrations of these amino acids. The normalization of the amino acids serine, leucine and isoleucine concentrations could be clinically relevant because the normalization of these energy-balance metabolites would suggest that residual micro-metastatic disease had been effectively diminished by the radiotherapy, and may be an indicator of its efficacy.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Amino Acids / metabolism*
  • Citric Acid Cycle*
  • Female
  • Glycolysis*
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms* / metabolism
  • Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms* / therapy

Substances

  • Amino Acids

Grants and funding

This study was funded by grants from the Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (2014 SGR1227; Barcelona, Spain) and Associació Oncològica Dr. Amadeu Pelegrí (AODAP/2015; Salou, Spain) to JC. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.