title: Metabolomics of Head and Neck Cancer: A Mini-Review.
abstract: Metabolomics is used in systems biology to enhance the understanding of complex disease processes, such as cancer. Head and neck cancer (HNC) is an epithelial malignancy that arises in the upper aerodigestive tract and affects more than half a million people worldwide each year. Recently, significant effort has focused on integrating multiple "omics" technologies for oncological research. In particular, research has been focused on identifying tumor-specific metabolite profiles using different sample types (biological fluids, cells and tissues) and a variety of metabolomic platforms and technologies. With our current understanding of molecular abnormalities of HNC, the addition of metabolomic studies will enhance our knowledge of the pathogenesis of this disease and potentially aid in the development of novel strategies to prevent and treat HNC. In this review, we summarize the proposed hypotheses and conclusions from publications that reported findings on the metabolomics of HNC. In addition, we address the potential influence of host-microbe metabolomics in cancer. From a systems biology perspective, the integrative use of genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics will be extremely important for future translational metabolomic-based research discoveries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences, University of Michigan School of DentistryAnn Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public HealthAnn Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Jae M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan School of DentistryAnn Arbor, MI, USA; Division of Periodontology, Department of Orofacial Sciences, University of California San FranciscoSan Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Pachiyappan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kamarajan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences, University of Michigan School of Dentistry Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: J Christopher
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Fenno
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Alexander H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Rickard
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan School of DentistryAnn Arbor, MI, USA; Division of Periodontology, Department of Orofacial Sciences, University of California San FranciscoSan Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Yvonne L
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Kapila
keywords: head and neck cancer; metabolomics; microbiome; oral cancer; squamous cell carcinoma