Premium
Metabolomics in the clinic: A review of the shared and unique features of untargeted metabolomics for clinical research and clinical testing
Author(s) -
Kennedy Adam D.,
Wittmann Bryan M.,
Evans Anne M.,
Miller Luke A.D.,
Toal Douglas R.,
Lonergan Shaun,
Elsea Sarah H.,
Pappan Kirk L.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of mass spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.475
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9888
pISSN - 1076-5174
DOI - 10.1002/jms.4016
Subject(s) - metabolomics , data science , clinical practice , computational biology , chemistry , computer science , medicine , biology , chromatography , family medicine
For over a decade, metabolomics has been promising to transform the practice of medicine by delivering powerful diagnostic tests. The reality, however, is that the march towards precision medicine has been slower than first anticipated because of the substantial challenges associated with the development, validation and adoption of complex multivariate testing strategies within a highly regulated environment. In this issue, Kennedy and colleagues present their vision for the future of untargeted metabolomics in clinical testing. They highlight the complexities of test design, accurate and precise data acquisition, quality control, data processing and biochemical pathway analysis when hundreds to thousands of unique metabolites are measured in a single clinical sample. The authors outline the current state of (mass spectrometry‐based) metabolomics and illustrate the both the potential, and the challenges, of this rapidly evolving landscape.