LAUSR

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of primary liver cancer causing more than half a million annual deaths world-wide. Understanding the molecular mechanisms contributing to HCC development and progression is highly desirable for improved surveillance, diagnosis and treatment. Liver tissue metabolomics has the potential to reflect the physiological changes behind HCC development. Also, it allows identification of candidate biomarkers for future evaluation in bio fluids and investigation of racial disparities in HCC. Tumor and non-tumor tissues from 40 patients were analyzed by both gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) platforms to increase the metabolome coverage. The levels of the metabolites extracted from solid liver tissue of the HCC area and adjacent non-HCC area were compared. Among the analytes detected by GC-MS and LC-MS with significant alterations, 18 were selected based on biological relevance and confirmed metabolite identification. These metabolites belong to TCA cycle, glycolysis, purines, and lipid metabolism, and have been previously reported in liver metabolomic studies where high correlation with HCC progression is implied. We demonstrated that metabolites related to HCC pathogenesis can be identified through liver tissue metabolomic analysis. Additionally, this study has led to the identification of race-specific metabolites associated with HCC.