Hypoxia-induced acidic microenvironment alters cellular pharmacokinetics of gastric cancer in a Mongolian population

This study aims to comprehensively analyze the transcriptome characteristics of Mongolian gastric cancer (GC) patients to elucidate the critical molecular events underlying treatment response in this ethnic population. The objective is to establish connections between these molecular events and the cellular pharmacokinetics of chemotherapy drugs. Our investigation revealed increased activation of the hypoxia pathway in GC tumor tissues from Mongolian individuals, which was significantly associated with adverse prognosis. Through analysis of hypoxia-induced changes in cellular pharmacokinetics, we identified three chemotherapy drugs—paclitaxel, oxaliplatin, and tegafur–gimeracil–oteracil potassium capsules (TGO)—that exhibit distinct transport and metabolic characteristics in GC tumor cells of Mongolian nationality. These findings provide valuable insights for clinical practice, particularly in refining treatment strategies and advancing personalized medicine for Mongolian GC patients.