Research questions: 1. Which metabolic biomarkers are specific to gastrointestinal tumors and distinguishable from other tumors/healthy controls? 2. Can a metabolomics-based panel accurately screen early gastrointestinal tumors? 3. Which metabolic signatures correlate with gastrointestinal tumor prognosis (recurrence, survival)? Objectives: 1. Identify differential metabolites between gastrointestinal tumor patients, other tumor patients and healthy individuals using untargeted metabolomics. 2. Develop and validate a targeted metabolomics screening panel for early gastrointestinal tumors. 3. Establish a metabolomics-based prognostic model by correlating metabolic profiles with clinical outcomes. Scientific rationale: Gastrointestinal tumors have high morbidity/mortality due to late detection and poor prognosis. Metabolomics reflects real-time pathophysiological changes, offering potential for early screening and prognostic evaluation. UK Biobank’s large cohort with clinical/biological data enables robust model development/validation, addressing unmet clinical needs for early diagnosis and personalized prognosis of gastrointestinal tumors.
