Metabolomics-Based Diagnosis of Medullary Thyroid Cancer: A Plasma 1H NMR Approach

Khadijeh  Saeidi; Mehdi  Hedayati; Monireh  Movahedi; Maryam Sadat  Daneshpour

doi:10.18502/ijph.v54i9.19867

Khadijeh Saeidi Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biological Sciences, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
Mehdi Hedayati Cellular and Molecular Endocrine Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Molecular Biology, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Monireh Movahedi Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biological Sciences, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
Maryam Sadat Daneshpour Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biological Sciences, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijph.v54i9.19867

Keywords: Medullary thyroid cancer; Metabolomics; Diagnosis; Metabolic perturbation

Abstract

Background: Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is a rare neuroendocrine malignancy, accounting for 5-10% of all thyroid cancer cases. The precise molecular processes driving MTC remain largely elusive. We aimed to conduct a pilot study analyzing plasma metabolic profiles of MTC patients to uncover disruptions in metabolic pathways that may contribute to MTC tumorigenesis.

Methods: Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopy was performed to screen metabolic changes in plasma samples from MTC patients (n=16) and healthy subjects (n=12). Multivariate and univariate analyses were applied using MetaboAnalyst and SIMCA software.

Results: A total of 30 compounds were identified, of which three metabolites—glycerol, isobutyric acid, and valine—showed significant differences between MTC patients and the control group (P<0.05).

Conclusion: The findings from this study contribute to the current understanding of MTC metabolism and suggest that the NMR-based metabolomics approach can provide a metabolic pattern of MTC, potentially improving diagnostic procedures.