LC-MS links amino acids with lung cancer

A screening trial for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has used liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to investigate the potential for predicting cancer risk through amino acids.

Scientists in Japan write in BMC Cancer of how LC-MS was used to measure amino acid concentrations in blood samples obtained from a control group and from NSCLC patients awaiting treatment.

After identifying difference in the amino acids expressed in the blood of each group, the scientists looked to whether the discrepancies were consistent.

They found that, regardless of histology or progression of the disease, amino acids can allow NSCLC patients to be distinguished from control individuals.

"The amino acid balance in cancer patients often differs from that in healthy individuals because of metabolic changes," the scientists explain in their paper.

BMC Cancer is a peer-reviewed periodical specialising in pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cancer.