Metabolomics and triple-negative breast cancer: A systematic review.

Triple-negative breast cancer stands out as the most aggressive subtype of breast malignancy and is characterized by an unfavourable prognosis. : This systematic review summarizes the insights gleaned from metabolomic analyses of individuals afflicted with this cancer variant. The overarching goal was to delineate the molecular alterations associated with triple-negative breast cancer, pinpointing potential therapeutic targets and novel biomarkers. We systematically searched for evidence using the PubMed database and followed the PRISMA and STARLITE guidelines. The search parameters were delimited to articles published within the last 13 years. From an initial pool of 148 scrutinized articles, 17 studies involving 1686 participants were deemed eligible for inclusion. The current body of research shows a paucity of studies, and the available evidence presents conflicting outcomes. Notwithstanding, Pathway Enrichment Analysis identified the urea and glucose-alanine cycles as the most affected metabolic pathways, followed by arginine, proline, and aspartate metabolism. Future investigations need to focus on elucidating which of those metabolites and/or pathways might be reliable candidates for novel therapeutic interventions or reliable biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis of this subtype of breast cancer.