Lipid alterations and subtyping maker discovery of lung cancer based on nontargeted tissue lipidomics using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

High morbidity and mortality are still associated with lung cancer, especially non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Although several studies showed abnormality in lung cancer lipidome, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Therefore, a marker for early diagnosis of NSCLC is highly needed. In this study, a nontargeted lipidomics approach based on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to analyze the lung tumor tissue (LCT) lipidome to investigate the characteristics of lipid metabolism alterations in lung cancer tissues and find suitable lipid markers for lung cancer and its subtypes. Our results revealed that the most prominent alterations in LCT were the decrease of free fatty acid (FFA) and increase of triglyceride compared with distal noncancerous tissue (DNT). We also identified and verified the combinational lipid markers which can discriminate malignant from benign tissue as well as different NSCLC subtypes. These results not only provide hints in the lipid metabolism dysregulations between malignant and benign tissues but also define the combinational lipid markers to aid clinical diagnosis of lung cancer and its subtypes.

Keywords: Lipid alterations; Lipidomics; Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry; Lung cancer; Maker discovery; Subtyping.