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Altered urinary polyamine patterns of cancer patients under acupuncture therapy

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Abstract

The reduction of elevated polyamine (PA) levels in biological fluids of cancer patients were known to be correlated with remission following diverse therapeutic treatments. In this study, altered urinary PA levels from three different cancer cases were monitored at different intervals during the long-term weekday acupuncture treatments. Nine urinary PA levels from 16 normal and three cancer patients with different types were measured by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry in selected ion monitoring mode as N-ethoxycarbonyl-N-pentafluoropropionyl derivatives. Their levels measured at three follow-up stages for each patient were then normalized to the corresponding normal group means and plotted into star symbol patterns. Large alterations of PA levels were observed for each patient. Each normalized concentration displayed elevation of the PA levels in multiples (0.0–57.7) of the respective normal mean values. The normalized PA values were transformed into distorted star patterns which were characteristic of each follow-up stage and of cancer type.

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Abbreviations

PAs:

Polyamines

N-EOC-N-PFP:

N-Ethoxycarbonyl-N-pentafluoropropionyl

GC–MS:

Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

SIM:

Selected ion monitoring

ECF:

Ethyl chloroformate

PFPA:

Pentafluoropropionyl anhydride

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

MANOVA:

Multivariate analysis of variance

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grant no. 2006-04027 from the Basic Research Program of the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation, Republic of Korea.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Metabolomic Analysis Laboratory, Institute for Neuroregeneration and Stem Cell Research, School of Medicine, Ajou University, Suwon, 443-721, Republic of Korea

    M. J. Paik

  2. Jaesun Acupuncture Clinics and Dawnting Cancer Research Institute, Seoul, 100-823, Republic of Korea

    D. Kuon

  3. Analytical Chemometrics Laboratory, College of Pharmacy, Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul, 140-742, Republic of Korea

    J. Cho

  4. Biometabolite Analysis Laboratory, College of Pharmacy, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 440-746, Republic of Korea

    K.-R. Kim

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  1. M. J. Paik
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  2. D. Kuon
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  4. K.-R. Kim
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Correspondence to K.-R. Kim.

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Paik, M.J., Kuon, D., Cho, J. et al. Altered urinary polyamine patterns of cancer patients under acupuncture therapy. Amino Acids 37, 407–413 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-008-0169-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-008-0169-8

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