Urine-NMR metabolomics for screening of advanced colorectal adenoma and early stage colorectal cancer

Although colorectal cancer (CRC) is considered one of the most preventable cancers, no non-invasive, accurate diagnostic tool to screen CRC exists. We explored the potential of urine nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolomics as a diagnostic tool for early detection of CRC, focusing on advanced adenoma and stage 0 CRC. Urine metabolomics profiles from patients with colorectal neoplasia (CRN; 36 advanced adenomas and 56 CRCs at various stages, n = 92) and healthy controls (normal, n = 156) were analyzed by NMR spectroscopy. Healthy and CRN groups were statistically discriminated using orthogonal projections to latent structure discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). The class prediction model was validated by three-fold cross-validation. The advanced adenoma and stage 0 CRC were grouped together as pre-invasive CRN. The OPLS-DA score plot showed statistically significant discrimination between pre-invasive CRN as well as advanced CRC and healthy controls with a Q2 value of 0.746. In the prediction validation study, the sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing pre-invasive CRN were 96.2% and 95%, respectively. The grades predicted by the OPLS-DA model showed that the areas under the curve were 0.823 for taurine, 0.783 for alanine, and 0.842 for 3-aminoisobutyrate. In multiple receiver operating characteristics curve analyses, taurine, alanine, and 3-aminoisobutyrate were good discriminators for CRC patients. NMR-based urine metabolomics profiles significantly and accurately discriminate patients with pre-invasive CRN as well as advanced CRC from healthy individuals. Urine-NMR metabolomics has potential as a screening tool for accurate diagnosis of pre-invasive CRN.