Lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men and women combined (Canadian Cancer Society, 2021). Detection of cancer-specific metabolites in the early stages of lung cancer is made difficult due to the small size of tumours and the absence of cellular specificity of almost all metabolites. However, the power of metabolomics may allow for the non-invasive detection of early stages of lung cancer.
Michel Aliani’s team recently published a paper in PLoS ONE, entitled “Comparative metabolomics studies of blood collected in streck and heparin tubes from lung cancer patients“. The pilot study was undertaken to determine the effect of blood collection tube (BCT) (Streck vs. Heparin), blood location (venous vs. arterial), and sex, on the metabolic profile of cancer patients suffering from various types of lung tumours.
“We are excited to share this work, particularly through PLoS One’s ‘open to all’, fully transparent portal. All raw materials have been uploaded to their public repository, which in my opinion is incredibly vital in order for the whole world to have access to this data,” Aliani explained.
This work provides further insight into the preferred blood collection tube that should be used for improved lung cancer detection and a better understanding of the metabolic variations of different tumour types.
Goldberg E, Levari-Shariati S, Kidane B, Kim J, Banerji S, Qing G, et al. (2021) Comparative metabolomics studies of blood collected in streck and heparin tubes from lung cancer patients. PLoS ONE 16(4): e0249648. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249648