Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42442328›Full record

ArticleEBioMedicine2026

Serum metabolomics profiling in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: a multicentre diagnostic study.

Hexin Ma, Xinran Zhao, Zhihui Li, Zhen Zhang, Xinhua Pan, Mengxuan Du, Qingqing Wan, Chaojun Zhang, Xu Wang, Hongyu Zhao and 3 more

Abstract readMulticenter Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in EBioMedicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Hexin MaDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine; College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University; National Center for Stomatology; National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology; Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology; Shanghai Center of Head and Neck Oncology Clinical and Translational Science, Shanghai, China; Digital Diagnosis and Treatment Innovation Center for Cancer, Institute of Translational Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Xinran ZhaoDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine; College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University; National Center for Stomatology; National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology; Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology; Shanghai Center of Head and Neck Oncology Clinical and Translational Science, Shanghai, China; Digital Diagnosis and Treatment Innovation Center for Cancer, Institute of Translational Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Zhihui LiDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine; College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University; National Center for Stomatology; National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology; Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology; Shanghai Center of Head and Neck Oncology Clinical and Translational Science, Shanghai, China.
Zhen ZhangDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine; College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University; National Center for Stomatology; National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology; Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology; Shanghai Center of Head and Neck Oncology Clinical and Translational Science, Shanghai, China; Digital Diagnosis and Treatment Innovation Center for Cancer, Institute of Translational Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Xinhua PanDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine; College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University; National Center for Stomatology; National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology; Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology; Shanghai Center of Head and Neck Oncology Clinical and Translational Science, Shanghai, China.
Mengxuan DuDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine; College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University; National Center for Stomatology; National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology; Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology; Shanghai Center of Head and Neck Oncology Clinical and Translational Science, Shanghai, China.
Qingqing WanDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine; College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University; National Center for Stomatology; National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology; Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology; Shanghai Center of Head and Neck Oncology Clinical and Translational Science, Shanghai, China; Digital Diagnosis and Treatment Innovation Center for Cancer, Institute of Translational Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Chaojun ZhangDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine; College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University; National Center for Stomatology; National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology; Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology; Shanghai Center of Head and Neck Oncology Clinical and Translational Science, Shanghai, China; Digital Diagnosis and Treatment Innovation Center for Cancer, Institute of Translational Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Xu WangDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine; College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University; National Center for Stomatology; National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology; Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology; Shanghai Center of Head and Neck Oncology Clinical and Translational Science, Shanghai, China.
Hongyu ZhaoThe First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China. Electronic address: zhongyu93@163.com.
Zhien FengDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, Beijing Stomatological Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China. Electronic address: jyfzhen@126.com.
Xin ZhangDigital Diagnosis and Treatment Innovation Center for Cancer, Institute of Translational Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: xz404@sjtu.edu.cn.
Wan-Tao ChenDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine; College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University; National Center for Stomatology; National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology; Shanghai Research Institute of Stomatology; Shanghai Center of Head and Neck Oncology Clinical and Translational Science, Shanghai, China; Digital Diagnosis and Treatment Innovation Center for Cancer, Institute of Translational Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: chenwantao196323@sjtu.edu.cn.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHead and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is frequently diagnosed at advanced stages, when outcomes are poor. Biomarkers for HNSCC detection remain needed.

methodsWe performed serum metabolomics profiling in 938 participants, including 457 patients with HNSCC, 451 controls, and 30 patients with oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs). Discovery and external validation cohorts were analysed using LC-MS/MS. Machine learning-based feature selection was used to develop an 8-metabolite diagnostic model. Disease specificity was assessed in an independent third-centre cohort. Multi-omics analyses integrating TCGA transcriptomics and spatial transcriptomics data were used to explore molecular heterogeneity. STUDY REGISTRATION: ChiCTR-BRC-17014040.

findingsSerum metabolomics profiling showed altered arginine metabolism, characterised by arginine decrease and ornithine accumulation. The 8-metabolite model achieved an internal validation AUC of 0.990, with 91.3% sensitivity and 97.1% specificity. In the multicentre external validation cohort, the model achieved an AUC of 0.901, with 91.1% sensitivity and 80.2% specificity, and maintained performance in Stage I disease, with an AUC of 0.927. In the independent disease-control cohort, the model distinguished HNSCC from healthy controls with an AUC of 0.980 and showed moderate discrimination between HNSCC and OPMDs, with an AUC of 0.710. Multi-omics analyses identified two candidate molecular subtypes with distinct immune features, prognosis, TP53 mutation status, and predicted treatment sensitivities. Spatial transcriptomics supported an inverse association between metabolic score and immune infiltration.

interpretationThis multicentre study identifies a serum metabolomics signature associated with HNSCC detection and molecular stratification. The findings support further prospective validation in clinically representative populations.

fundingNational Natural Science Foundation of China; Shanghai Committee of Science and Technology; Innovative Research Team of High-level Local Universities in Shanghai; Shanghai Jiao Tong University Trans-med Awards Research; The Explorers Program of Shanghai; National Major Science and Technology Infrastructure for Translational Medicine, Shanghai; Beijing Municipal Natural Science Foundation; Beijing High-Level Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talent Support Program Young Top Talent Projects.

Indexed as

Biomarkers, TumorHead and Neck NeoplasmsMetabolomeMetabolomicsSquamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and NeckAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedMultiomicsNeoplasm StagingROC CurveBiomarkers, TumorBiomarkersHead and neck squamous cell carcinomaMachine learningMetabolomicsPrecision medicine

Identifiers

PMID42442328
PMCPMC13375948

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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.