Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Aug 16:12:81-92.
doi: 10.2147/LCTT.S320493. eCollection 2021.

An Update on the Use of Exhaled Breath Analysis for the Early Detection of Lung Cancer

Nir Peled  1 , Vered Fuchs  2 , Emily H Kestenbaum  2 , Elron Oscar  2 , Raul Bitran  3
Affiliations
Review

An Update on the Use of Exhaled Breath Analysis for the Early Detection of Lung Cancer

Nir Peled et al. Lung Cancer (Auckl). .

Abstract

Lung cancer has historically been the main responsible for cancer associated deaths. Owing to this is our current inability to screen for and diagnose early pathological findings, preventing us from a timely intervention when cure is still achievable. Over the last decade, together with the extraordinary progress in therapeutical alternatives in the field, there has been an ongoing search for a biomarker that would allow for this. Numerous technologies have been developed but their clinical application is yet to come. In this review, we provide an update on volatile organic compounds, a non-invasive method that can hold the key for detecting early metabolic pathway changes in carcinogenesis. For its compilation, web-based search engines of scientific literature such as PubMed were explored and reviewed, using articles, research, and papers deemed meaningful by authors discretion. After a brief description, we depict how this technique can complement current methods and present the value of electronic noses in the identification of the "breathprint". Lastly, we bring some of the latest updates in the field together with the current limitations and final remarks.

Keywords: E-nose; GC-MS; VOC; biomarkers; electronic nose; lung cancer; volatile organic compounds.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Nir Peled is Advisor & Honorarium from Research with AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, FoundationMedicine, Guardant360, Merck, MSD, Novartis, NovellusDx, Pfizer, Roche, Takeda, and holds the following international patents (IP): Volatile Organic Compounds For Detecting Cell Dysplasia and Genetic Alterations Associated with Lung Cancer; WO2012023138 Breath Analysis of Pulmonary Nodules. US20130150261 A1. Apparatus for treating a target site of a body; WO/2015/059646. The rest of the authors hold no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Breath biopsy.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Current E-Nose applications in cancer.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Cancer. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cancer. Accessed January16, 2021.
    1. CDC. An update on cancer deaths in the United States. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/dcpc/research/update-on-cancer-deaths/index.htm. Accessed January16, 2021.
    1. About lung cancer. Available from: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/lung-cancer/about/key-statistics.html. Accessed January17, 2021.
    1. Walser T, Cui X, Yanagawa J, et al. Smoking and lung cancer: the role of inflammation. Proc Am Thorac Soc. 2008;5(8):811–815. doi:10.1513/pats.200809-100TH - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wood DE, Kazerooni EA, Aberle D, et al. NCCN guidelines version 1.2021 lung cancer screening version 1; 2021. Available from: https://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/pdf/lung_screening.pdf. Accessed January17, 2021.