Metabolic Activity in Lung Cancer Predicts Early Spread and Patient Outcomes
New research from UT Southwestern’s Children’s Medical Center Research Institute (CRI), published in Cancer Discovery, shows that a tumor’s ability to metabolize glucose into the TCA cycle predicts the spread of localized non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) long before metastases appear. This metabolic activity is linked to early patient death. Led by Dr. Ralph J. DeBerardinis and his team, including Dr. Brandon Faubert and Dr. Ling Cai, the study used an isotope infusion assay to analyze cancer metabolism in 90 patients during tumor removal surgery.
Metabolic Activity in Lung Cancer Predicts Early Spread and Patient Outcomes