Metabolomics in paediatric oncology: a potential still to be exploited.

Oncology is a branch of medicine in rapid evolution in the attempt to find innovative methods for early diagnosis and a better understanding of tumoral processes leading to the development of new therapies. Metabolomics is the emerging discipline among the "omics" sciences which makes it possible to further expand our knowledge concerning cancer biology. Different studies have revealed the potential role of metabolomics in gaining an understanding of pathophysiological processes in cancer, improving tumor staging, characterizing tumors and searching for biomarkers predictive of therapeutic responses. However, to date there are few works aimed at gaining deeper insights into infantile oncology through metabolomics.