Abstract
Gynecological and breast cancers still remain a significant health problem worldwide. Diagnostic methods are not sensitive and specific enough to detect the disease at an early stage. During carcinogenesis and tumor progression, the cellular need for DNA and protein synthesis increases leading to changes in the levels of amino acids. An important role of amino acids in many biological pathways, including biosynthesis of proteins, nucleic acids, enzymes, etc., which serve as an energy source and maintain redox balance, has been highlighted in many research articles. The aim of this review is a detailed analysis of the literature on metabolomic studies of gynecology and breast cancers with particular emphasis on alterations in free amino acid profiles. The work includes a brief overview of the metabolomic methodology and types of biological samples used in the studies. Special attention was paid to the possible role of selected amino acids in the carcinogenesis, especially proline and amino acids related to its metabolism. There is a clear need for further research and multiple external validation studies to establish the role of amino acid profiling in diagnosing gynecological and breast cancers.
Highlights
Carcinogenesis is a complex process that affects many pathological pathways
The presented review summarizes the available literature on changes in amino acid profiles in gynecological and breast cancers
It is evident that cancer growth and progression affect various metabolic pathways and alter the levels of certain amino acids in biological fluids and/or tissue
Summary
Carcinogenesis is a complex process that affects many pathological pathways Metabolomic studies can be defined as measuring low-molecular-weight metabolites and their intermediates in biological fluids or tissue that reflect the dynamic response to genetic modifications and/or pathophysiological changes due to carcinogenesis. Modern analytical techniques, such as liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) enable fast and comprehensive analysis of metabolites in biological specimens, and Pharmaceuticals 2021, 14, 731.
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