Comprehensive Metabolomic Analysis of Lung Cancer Patients Treated with Fu Zheng Fang

Background: Lung cancer remains one of the leading cancers with increasing mortality rates in the world. The clinicians in our hospital summarized “Fu Zheng Fang (FZF)” as a Chinese medicine prescription with good therapeutic effect and low adverse reactions to treat lung cancer. Objective: This research aimed to conduct an in-depth study on the essence and internal rules of the effect of FZF. Methods: Serum samples from twenty lung cancer patients who received FZF were subjected to metabolomic profiling using UPLC-Q-Exactive-MS combined with multivariate statistical analysis. Results: A total of 17 significantly differential metabolites were found in NC and FZF groups, which mainly participated in phenylalanine metabolism, apelin signaling pathway, sphingolipid signaling pathway, and others. Seven metabolites were increased in FZF group relative to NC group, while ten metabolites were decreased in FZF group; most of them were proven to be consistent with previous experiments. This indicated that FZF had a definite therapeutic effect on lung cancer by regulating the contents of metabolites through amino acid metabolism, metabolism of cofactors and vitamins, carbohydrate metabolism, and cancer. Conclusion: This study provides a deeper insight into the comprehensive understanding of molecular mechanisms of FZF treatment against lung cancer.