Development of a novel diagnostic method for malignant pleural mesothelioma based on the analysis of amino acid profiles

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K20720
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 90130:Medical systems-related
• Research Institution: Fukuoka University
• Principal Investigator: TOMITA RYOKO 福岡大学, 薬学部, 助教 (10580194)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: アミノ酸 / アミノ酸バランス / 悪性胸膜中皮腫 / 診断 / HPLC

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, a discriminant model was developed to diagnose malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) based on the analysis of the balance of amino acid concentrations. Amino acid data from the HPLC analysis of pleural fluid samples collected from MPM or control patients were applied to the principal component analysis (PCA). It was confirmed that the amino acid balance was different between the MPM and control groups. Furthermore, in order to create an index for identifying MPM patients, the linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was performed on amino acid data for establishing a discriminant model. The obtained model consisting of several amino acids as variables was confirmed to show good diagnostic performance. We believe this method could contribute to the development of a new auxiliary diagnostic technique.

Free Research Field

分析化学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

現在のMPM診断は、画像診断や細胞診を行った後に鑑別のための外科的・胸腔鏡生検が実施されているが、これらは診断を行う検査技師や医師の知識と経験に依存する。本研究で提唱する新たな診断法は、判別モデル（計算式）から算出される数値によって判断するため、診断のための客観的な判断材料を提供することができる。既存の診断技術とは原理の異なる新しい補助診断法として、または定期的な健康診断等を利用したスクリーニング検査法としての応用が期待される。