Urinary Metabolomic Signature of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

• Author / Creator

  Davis, Vanessa W

• Pancreatic cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related death, due to its aggressive biology, lack of tools for early diagnosis and screening, advanced presentation and resistance to adjuvant therapy. Metabolomics, the newest of the “omics” sciences, may offer the potential for non-invasive screening of early tumor associated perturbations in cellular metabolism. We applied metabolomic techniques as a potential discriminating tool in the diagnosis of early stage and locally advanced pancreatic cancer. Urinary nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic analysis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma was associated with a distinct metabolomics signature, was detectable in both early stage and locally advanced disease when compared with healthy, age and gender matched controls and was extinguished following complete, R0 surgical resection. These preliminary results suggest that metabolomics approaches may facilitate discovery of novel biomarkers capable of early disease detection.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Urine
  • Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma
  • Metabolomics
  • Screening

• Graduation date

  Fall 2012

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R35D1X

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.