BACKGROUNDStomach cancer is among the most commonly occurring malignancies worldwide. It would be beneficial to develop a urine-based assay whereby patients with undiagnosed stomach cancer could be screened and their cancer detected in the earliest stages.

METHODSA urinary metabonomics method based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography combined with quadruple time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used to analyze urine samples from patients with stomach cancer and healthy controls.

RESULTSStatistical analysis revealed a clear separation of patients and healthy controls using the aforementioned methodology. Some significantly changed metabolites were identified.

CONCLUSIONSUse of the metabonomics method in patients with stomach cancer could effectively detect distinct changes in urinary metabolites and had the capacity to detect cancer; therefore, it may be a valuable tool in earlier diagnosis. Furthermore, the detection and identification of altered metabolites in the current study may help elucidate possible mechanisms involved in stomach cancer.