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Updated: Feb 25, 2026
Detection and Monitoring of Tumor Associated Circulating DNA in Patient Biofluids
Published on: June 8, 2019
Amino acid profiles as potential biomarkers for pediatric cancers: a preliminary communication
Anna Synakiewicz1, Malgorzata Sawicka-Zukowska2, Natalia Adrianowska3
1Department of Pediatrics, Hematology and Oncology, Medical University of Gdansk, 80-211 Gdansk, Poland.
Insights
Altered plasma amino acid (AA) levels are linked to childhood cancer. Specific AA profiles may aid in early tumor detection and treatment monitoring for pediatric cancer patients.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Pediatric Oncology
- Metabolomics
Background:
- Childhood cancer is a leading cause of pediatric mortality.
- Alterations in plasma amino acid (AA) levels are implicated in cancer development and progression.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate plasma-free amino acid profiles in children with cancer.
- To identify potential biomarkers for childhood cancer detection and management.
Main Methods:
- Analyzed 22 plasma-free amino acids using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with fluorometric detection.
- Compared 77 pediatric cancer patients (47 hematological, 30 solid tumors) with healthy controls.
Main Results:
- Oncological patients showed significantly decreased glutamine levels.
- Elevated levels of aspartic acid, glutamic acid, asparagine, serine, citrulline, alanine, GABA, tryptophan, methionine, valine, phenylalanine, and isoleucine were observed in cancer children compared to controls.
Conclusions:
- Plasma-free amino acid profiles offer a novel biomarker approach.
- This metabolomic and clinical data integration may enhance early tumor detection, treatment monitoring, and recurrence prediction in pediatric cancer.
Aim:
Childhood cancer remains one of the main cause of death in the pediatric population. Amino acids (AAs) level alterations in plasma are considered to play a role in carcinogenesis and further course of the disease.
Methods:
Seventy-seven children with cancer, including 47 with hematological and 30 with solid tumors were enrolled in this study and compared with healthy children. Twenty-two plasma-free AAs were determined by HPLC with fluorometric detection.
Results:
The results revealed significant decrease in glutamine levels for oncological patients and significant increase in aspartic acid, glutamic acid, asparagine, serine, citrulline, alanine, GABA, tryptophan, methionine, valine, phenylalanine and isoleucine levels in cancer children versus control.
Conclusion:
Plasma-free AA profile as a biomarker, which combines metabolic and clinical data, as an innovative and interdisciplinary approach, may allow for faster detection of tumor occurrence, and in the future for monitoring patient during treatment, and possible prediction of cancer recurrence.
