GEN | News Highlights: Scientists Find Tumor Metabolism Signatures That Predict Poor Prognosis.
Researchers suggest profiling cancer cells to identify gene-expression signatures associated with the metabolism of lactate and ketones can provide an accurate prognostic indicator of recurrence, metastasis, and poor clinical outcome. Rather than detecting cancer-related gene mutations, the approach, which researchers from Thomas Jefferson University Kimmel Cancer Center call metabolo-genomics, correlates poor disease prognosis with a genetic profile that indicates the cancer is using high-energy metabolites to drive ATP production.
The team claims their previous research has demonstrated that these high-energy metabolites fuel aggressive tumor cell behavior, and their latest work confirms that lactate- and ketone-induced gene signatures in human breast cancer patients are predictive of poor clinical outcome including recurrence and metastasis. They further suggest that high-risk cancer patients identified by these lactate/ketone gene signatures could be treated with therapeutics such as metformin, which specifically target oxidative mitochondrial metabolism.