Metabolomics is a post-genomic research field for analysis of low molecular weight compounds in biological systems, and its approaches offer an analysis of metabolite level changes in biological samples. Recently, metabolomic method has shown great potentials in identifying the new diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets for cancers. However, metabolomic studies on cancer metastasis remain scarce.

A research article to be published on February 14, 2011 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The authors used metabolomics, which is based on gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) technology, to study the urinary metabolites expression changes among three mice groups.

This is the first report on urinary metabolomic investigation in gastric cancer using GC/MS. Biomarkers discovered in this study are mainly low molecular weight metabolites, which are difficult to detect by traditional methods. On the basis of this research, the authors believe that urinary metabolomic information investigated by GC/MS might play a significant role in early diagnosis and screening metastasis or recurrence of gastric cancer.

Reference: Hu JD, Tang HQ, Zhang Q, Fan J, Hong J, Gu JZ, Chen JL. Prediction of gastric cancer metastasis through urinary metabolomic investigation using GC/MS. World J Gastroenterol 2011; 17(6): 727-734 http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/full/v17/i6/727.htm

Correspondence to: Jin-Lian Chen, MD, Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200233, China. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Telephone: +86-21-64369181 Fax: +86-21-64369181

About World Journal of Gastroenterology

World Journal of Gastroenterology (WJG), a leading international journal in gastroenterology and hepatology, has established a reputation for publishing first class research on esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer, viral hepatitis, colorectal cancer, and H pylori infection and provides a forum for both clinicians and scientists. WJG has been indexed and abstracted in Current Contents/Clinical Medicine, Science Citation Index Expanded (also known as SciSearch) and Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition, Index Medicus, MEDLINE and PubMed, Chemical Abstracts, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Abstracts Journals, Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology and Hepatology, CAB Abstracts and Global Health. ISI JCR 2009 IF: 2.092. WJG is a weekly journal published by WJG Press. The publication dates are the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th day of every month. WJG is supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30224801 and No. 30424812, and was founded with the name of China National Journal of New Gastroenterology on October 1, 1995, and renamed WJG on January 25, 1998.

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World Journal of Gastroenterology