Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 18, 2026
Navigating the Mass Spectrometry-Based Proteomic Data Using Free Computational Tools
Published on: August 19, 2025
Targeted LC-MS/MS profiling of serum amino acids reveals type 2 diabetes-specific alterations in advanced gastric
Mehmet Emrah Yaman1, Omer Faruk Kocak2, Omer Topdagi3
1Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Analytical Chemistry, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey.
Background:
Altered amino acid metabolism is a feature of gastric cancer. Type 2 diabetes (T2D), a prevalent metabolic comorbidity, may affect circulating amino acid profiles; this study aimed to quantify its impact.
Research Design And Methods:
A validated targeted LC-MS/MS assay profiled 22 serum amino acids in 156 participants, including gastric cancer patients with and without type 2 diabetes and controls.
Results:
Adjusted models showed that many observed differences were attributable to type 2 diabetes and body mass index. Type 2 diabetes was associated with lower ornithine (β = -1.16; q = 0.0019) and interacted with gastric cancer for arginine (β_int = -1.10; q = 0.0044) and phenylalanine (β_int = +1.05; q = 0.0112). After adjustment, only valine, taurine, and total amino acids remained lower in gastric cancer. Body mass index was inversely associated with glutamine and positively associated with glutamate.
Conclusions:
Covariate-adjusted analysis distinguishes cancer-related from comorbidity-driven alterations and identifies type 2 diabetes as a key modifier of amino acid metabolism. Metabolic covariates should be considered when interpreting amino acid alterations in advanced gastric cancer biomarker studies. However, the findings should be interpreted in light of the predominantly advanced-stage gastric cancer cohort and require validation in larger prospective studies.
