Altered Plasma Fatty Acid Abundance Is Associated with Cachexia in Treatment-Naïve Pancreatic Cancer
Kristyn Gumpper-Fedus,
Phil A. Hart,
Martha A. Belury,
Olivia Crowe,
Rachel M. Cole,
Valentina Pita Grisanti,
Niharika Badi,
Sophia Liva,
Alice Hinton,
Christopher Coss,
Mitchell L. Ramsey,
Anne Noonan,
Darwin L. Conwell,
Zobeida Cruz-Monserrate
Affiliations
Kristyn Gumpper-Fedus
Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Phil A. Hart
Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Martha A. Belury
Program of Human Nutrition, College of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Olivia Crowe
College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Rachel M. Cole
Program of Human Nutrition, College of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Valentina Pita Grisanti
Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Niharika Badi
Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Sophia Liva
The James Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Alice Hinton
Division of Biostatistics, College of Public Heath, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Christopher Coss
The James Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Mitchell L. Ramsey
Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Anne Noonan
The James Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Darwin L. Conwell
Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Zobeida Cruz-Monserrate
Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Cachexia occurs in up to 80% of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients and is characterized by unintentional weight loss and tissue wasting. To understand the metabolic changes that occur in PDAC-associated cachexia, we compared the abundance of plasma fatty acids (FAs), measured by gas chromatography, of subjects with treatment-naïve metastatic PDAC with or without cachexia, defined as a loss of > 2% weight and evidence of sarcopenia (n = 43). The abundance of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated FAs was not different between subjects with cachexia and those without. Oleic acid was significantly higher in subjects with cachexia (p = 0.0007) and diabetes (p = 0.015). Lauric (r = 0.592, p = 0.0096) and eicosapentaenoic (r = 0.564, p = 0.015) acids were positively correlated with age in cachexia patients. Subjects with diabetes (p = 0.021) or both diabetes and cachexia (p = 0.092) had low palmitic:oleic acid ratios. Linoleic acid was lower in subjects with diabetes (p = 0.018) and correlated with hemoglobin (r = 0.519, p = 0.033) and albumin (r = 0.577, p = 0.015) in subjects with cachexia. Oleic or linoleic acid may be useful treatment targets or biomarkers of cachexia in patients with metastatic PDAC, particularly those with diabetes.
