Metabolomic analysis: Samples of placentas preserved in the CAISM biobank of patients who had breast cancer during pregnancy and received chemotherapy treatment

• Grant number: 23/09916-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 01, 2024
• End date: December 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Physiology - Physiology of Organs and Systems
• Principal Investigator: Laís Rosa Viana
• Grantee: Fernanda Aparecida Marqueto
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 21/08931-0 - Cancer and pregnancy: proteomic, transcriptomic and metabolic alterations in placenta from pregnant women with cancer and Wistar pregnant Walker 256 tumour-bearing rats, AP.JP

Abstract

Cancer during pregnancy is a rare event, with an incidence of 1:1000 pregnancies peryear, among the types of cancer that most affect pregnant women, breast cancer is themost frequent. The treatment of breast cancer during pregnancy is done mainly with theuse of chemotherapy, but it is recommended to start the treatment after the third trimester of pregnancy (complete organogenesis) to avoid possible teratogenic effects. However, even if started after the twelfth week of gestation, chemotherapy is related to highrates of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), miscarriage, premature birth, and theconsequent increase in the chances of developing comorbidities in adulthood. Considering that the placenta is the organ that ensures the success of pregnancy, it is possiblealterations in this organ that cause the aforementioned deleterious effects. Even with theimportance of the theme, little is known about the alterations, especially at 'omics' levels, that affect the placentas of patients who develop breast cancer during pregnancyand who receive chemotherapy treatments. Therefore, this project aims to perform metabolomic analyses in samples of placentas from patients with breast cancer who received chemotherapy treatment preserved in the biobank of Hospital da Mulher Prof. Dr. J.A. Pinotti-Caism/Unicamp. For this study we will have two groups: Group 1 - breastCA; placentas from patients who had breast cancer and received chemotherapy treatment during pregnancy and Group 2 - Control; placentas from patients with usual risk.For the metabolomics analyses, the metabolites of the placentas will be extracted andthen the samples will be analyzed by means of the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)technique and the quantification of the metabolites will be performed by the ChenomxNMR Suite software, considering the differences in results between the groups.