Metabolomics in bladder cancer: a systematic review

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Oncology
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Bladder cancer (BC) is a prevalent urological malignancy.
• Early diagnosis of BC significantly improves patient prognosis and outcomes.
• Current diagnostic methods have limitations, necessitating novel approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and synthesize current research on metabolomics in bladder cancer detection.
• To identify potential metabolite biomarkers associated with BC.
• To explore the diagnostic utility of metabolomics for BC.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review of publications on bladder cancer and metabolomics.
• Analysis of metabolite upregulation and downregulation patterns in BC.
• Identification of candidate biomarkers from reviewed studies.

Main Results:

• Metabolomics analysis revealed significant alterations in metabolite profiles in bladder cancer patients.
• Fourteen specific metabolites were identified as potential biomarkers for BC.
• These metabolites include lactic acid, leucine, valine, phenylalanine, glutamate, histidine, aspartic acid, tyrosine, serine, uracil, hypoxanthine, carnitine, pyruvic acid, and citric acid.

Conclusions:

• Metabolomics offers a promising, non-invasive approach for the early diagnosis of bladder cancer.
• The identified metabolites represent potential diagnostic biomarkers for BC.
• This systematic review highlights new avenues for improving BC detection and patient management.