Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38011656›Full record

ArticleEuropean journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery2024

Metabolic signatures of thymomas: potential biomarkers and treatment targets.

James W Miller, Brandon M Faubert, Thomas P Mathews, John K Waters, Ralph J DeBerardinis, Kemp H Kernstine

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 24% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Fe metal-organic framework-derived heterojunction for metabolic diagnosis of thymic epithelial tumor.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

James W MillerSchool of Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7150-0270
Brandon M FaubertChildren's Medical Center Research Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
Thomas P MathewsChildren's Medical Center Research Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
John K WatersDepartment of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
Ralph J DeBerardinisChildren's Medical Center Research Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
Kemp H KernstineDepartment of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
Children's Medical Center · USThe University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center · US

Funding

UT Southwestern Medical Center Simmons Comprehensive Cancer CenterP30CA142543 · NCI · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · PI Kathryn Ann O'Donnell · 2010 to 2026
$53.7M
Metabolic Regulators of Tumor Growth and ProgressionR35CA220449 · NCI · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · PI RALPH J DEBERARDINIS · 2017 to 2026
$9.4M
UT Southwestern NORCP30DK127984 · NIDDK · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · PI Jeffrey M Zigman · 2022 to 2026
$7.4M
NCI NIH HHS P30 CA142543NCI NIH HHS R35 CA220449NCI NIH HHS R35-CA-220449NIDDK NIH HHS P30 DK127984NIH HHS
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesA study of tumour metabolic reprogramming has revealed disease biomarkers and avenues for therapeutic intervention. Metabolic reprogramming in thymoma is currently understudied and largely unknown. This study utilized metabolomics and isotope tracing with 13C-glucose to metabolically investigate thymomas, adjacent thymic tissue and benign thymic lesions.

methodsFrom 2017 to 2021, 20 patients with a suspected thymoma were recruited to this prospective Institutional Review Board approved clinical trial. At the time of surgery, 11 patients were infused with 13C-glucose, a stable, non-radioactive tracer which reports the flow of carbon through metabolic pathways. Samples were analysed by mass spectrometry to measure the abundance of >200 metabolites.13C enrichment was measured in patients who received 13C-glucose infusions.

resultsHistological analysis showed that 9 patients had thymomas of diverse subtypes and 11 patients had benign cysts. In our metabolomic analysis, thymomas could be distinguished from both adjacent thymus tissue and benign lesions by metabolite abundances. Metabolites in pyrimidine biosynthesis and glycerophospholipid metabolism were differentially expressed across these tissues.13C-glucose infusions revealed differential labelling patterns in thymoma compared to benign cysts and normal thymus tissue. The lactate/3PG labelling ratio, a metabolic marker in aggressive lung tumours correlated with lactate uptake, was increased in thymomas (1.579) compared to normal thymus (0.945) and benign masses (0.807) (thymic tissue versus tumour P = 0.021, tumour versus benign P = 0.013).

conclusionsWe report metabolic biomarkers, including differential 13C labelling of metabolites from central metabolism, that distinguish thymomas from benign tissues. Altered glucose and lactate metabolism warrant further investigation and may provide novel therapeutic targets for thymoma.

Indexed as

CystsThymomaThymus NeoplasmsBiomarkersGlucoseHumansLactatesProspective StudiesBiomarkersGlucoseLactatesBiomarkersMetabolismThymomas

Identifiers

PMID38011656
PMCPMC10882262
OpenAlexW4389099003

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.