METabolic PROFILE of Hepatocarcinoma and Pancreatic Tumors

Hepatic (hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)) and pancreatic (pancreatic adenocarcinoma (ADKP); pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (TNEP)) primary tumors are the most common malignant tumors of the hepato-bilio-pancreatic system and represent a major public health issue. At present, the management of these tumors is based on recommendations based on the existence of rudimentary prognostic and theranostics markers that do not sufficiently accurately reflect the heterogeneity of tumor biology. It therefore seems essential to identify new and more relevant markers in order to optimize the care of these patients in daily practice. Metabolic reprogramming is now recognized as an essential feature of cancer cells, allowing them to fuel and maintain their proliferation and tumor growth. Such metabolic reprogramming requires modification of several energy pathways, the most commonly recognized being the transition from energy metabolism based on oxidative phosphorylation to energy metabolism based on glycolysis, even under aerobic conditions (Warburg effect). In this context, the investigators hypothesized that the consumption of nutrients by the tumor cell differs significantly from that of the normal cell in order to support its increased energy needs, and that this important and specific metabolic reprogramming would be correlated with the histo-prognostic and theranostics factors of these tumors. Preliminary analyses on surgical resection parts conducted by the various partners in 2019 made it possible to characterize the metabolic signatures of a series of HCC and ADKP resected using the Metafora biosystems technology platform. These signatures reflect a metabolic program characteristic of these tumors, which reveal strong specificities. Similarly, a candidate signature correlating with the presence of vascular microscopic invasion has been identified in HCC, and the level of activation of glycolysis and glutaminolysis by certain ADKP cells also appears as a trait of interest vis-à-vis the aggressiveness of this cancer. Thus, the current project will aim to confirm the feasibility of identifying specific prognostic and theranostics metabolic signatures early, on biopsy samples and / or circulating blood cells.