Metabolic Portrait of Breast Cancer in Mixed Saliva.

BACKGROUND

The metabolic profile of cancer includes changes in energy metabolism and biosynthetic (plastic) metabolism, and redox balance of tumor cells. This study aimed to identify clinically significant salivary metabolic features associated with breast cancer phenotypes.

METHODS

This study included 660 patients with breast cancer (age 54.6 ± 12.7 years) and 127 healthy volunteers (49.3 ± 14.2 years). Saliva samples were collected from all participants, strictly before the initiation of treatment, and the biochemical composition of saliva was determined, including indicators of antioxidant system activity, lipid profile, cytokines, and free amino acids.

RESULTS

Salivary metabolic features correlated with the breast cancer phenotype. In particular, for luminal A breast cancer, which has the most favorable prognosis, the presence of an active inflammatory process in saliva (C-reactive protein +136.6%, p < 0.0001; IL-1β +317.7%, p = 0.0004) and a pronounced immune anti-inflammatory response (INF-γ +79.1%, p = 0.0004) were shown. In contrast, for triple-negative breast cancer, a low anti-inflammatory response (INF-γ -4.1%) and active cell proliferation (glutamine +45.0%, p = 0.0342) were shown, which correlated with the disease severity, low immunogenicity, and the least favorable prognosis for this subtype of breast cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, salivary composition reflects systemic metabolic changes in breast cancer, which makes it possible to construct a metabolic portrait of breast cancer across distinct phenotypes.