Open AccessClinical contributions of exhaled volatile organic compounds in the diagnosis of lung cancer
Author(s) -
Tsuyoshi Oguma,
Takashi Nagaoka,
Muneshige Kurahashi,
Naofumi Kobayashi,
Shinji Yamamori,
Chizuko Tsuji,
Hiroto Takiguchi,
Kyoko Niimi,
Hiromi Tomomatsu,
Katsuyoshi Tomomatsu,
Naoki Hayama,
Takuya Aoki,
Tetsuya Urano,
Kazushige Magatani,
Sunao Takeda,
Tadashi Abe,
Koichiro Asano
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0174802
Subject(s) - lung cancer , exhaled air , exhaled breath condensate , medicine , gastroenterology , exhalation , breath gas analysis , lung , cancer , volatile organic compound , pathology , chemistry , radiology , biology , toxicology , organic chemistry , anatomy , asthma
Background Exhaled volatile organic compounds (VOC) are being considered as biomarkers for various lungs diseases, including cancer. However, the accurate measurement of extremely low concentrations of VOC in expired air is technically challenging. We evaluated the clinical contribution of exhaled VOC measured with a new, double cold-trap method in the diagnosis of lung cancer. Methods Breath samples were collected from 116 patients with histologically confirmed lung cancer and 37 healthy volunteers (controls) after inspiration of purified air, synthesized through a cold-trap system. The exhaled VOC, trapped in the same system, were heat extracted. We analyzed 14 VOC with gas chromatography. Results The concentrations of exhaled cyclohexane and xylene were significantly higher in patients with lung cancer than in controls ( p = 0.002 and 0.0001, respectively), increased significantly with the progression of the clinical stage of cancer (both p < 0.001), and decreased significantly after successful treatment of 6 patients with small cell lung cancer (p = 0.06 and 0.03, respectively). Conclusion Measurements of exhaled VOCs by a double cold-trap method may help diagnose lung cancer and monitor its progression and regression.