Sensitive Potential Prognostic Markers for Colorectal Cancer Surgery Screened by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS Combined With Metabolomics Technology: UDP-D-Galactose

Abstract Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common malignant tumor, it is necessary to conduct in-depth research on the pathogenesis, early diagnosis, and prognosis evaluation. The assessment of postoperative prognosis is beneficial to the accurate treatment for patients. Metabolomics can explore the metabolic changes in the process of cancer, to find new markers that can be used for early diagnosis of cancer and evaluation of efficacy. Method: In this study, ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography quarter time of fly mass spectrometer (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) technology was used to screen the metabolomics markers of blood samples from 24 CRC patients who underwent surgery and 24 healthy people. To verify the potential markers found above, At the same time, 8 CRC patients and normal control group were included. Results: UDP-D-galactose, which shown significant concentration changed 2 ~ 3 days after surgery was screened after statistical analysis. Moreover, the analysis of metabolic pathways in tissue samples also fully verified the correlation between UDP-D-galactose and CRC. Conclusion: UPLC-Q-TOF-MS is a practical method for screening metabolic markers. Accurate monitoring the concentration of UDP-D-galactose in blood can provide important assistance for the treatment of CRC patients.