Identification of volatile lung cancer markers by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry: comparison with discrimination by canines
Open Access
- 3 June 2012
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry
- Vol. 404 (1), 141-146
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-012-6102-8
Abstract
In this work, a chromatographic method for identification of volatile organic compounds was compared with canine recognition. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC–TOF MS) were used for determination of concentrations of trace gases present in human breath. The technique enables rapid determination of compounds in human breath, at the parts per billion level. Linear correlations were from 0.83–234.05 ppb, the limit of detection was the range 0.31–0.75 ppb, and precision, expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD), was less than 10.00 %. Moreover, trained dogs are able to discriminate breath samples of patients with diagnosed cancer. We found a positive correlation between dog indications and the ethyl acetate and 2-pentanone content of breath (r = 0.85 and r = 0.97, respectively). The methods presented for detection of lung cancer markers in exhaled air could be used as a potential non-invasive tool for screening. In addition, the canine method is relatively simple and inexpensive in comparison with chromatography.Keywords
This publication has 25 references indexed in Scilit:
- Automated Needle Trap Heart-Cut GC/MS and Needle Trap Comprehensive Two-Dimensional GC/TOF-MS for Breath Gas Analysis in the Clinical EnvironmentAnalytical Chemistry, 2010
- The analysis of healthy volunteers' exhaled breath by the use of solid-phase microextraction and GC-MSJournal of Breath Research, 2008
- Human Ovarian Carcinomas Detected by Specific OdorIntegrative Cancer Therapies, 2008
- Human exhaled air analytics: biomarkers of diseasesBiomedical Chromatography, 2007
- Diagnosis of lung cancer by the analysis of exhaled breath with a colorimetric sensor arrayThorax, 2007
- Is olfactory detection of human cancer by dogs based on major histocompatibility complex-dependent odour components? – A possible cure and a precocious diagnosis of cancerMedical Hypotheses, 2006
- A longitudinal study of ammonia, acetone and propanol in the exhaled breath of 30 subjects using selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry, SIFT-MSPhysiological Measurement, 2006
- Detection of Lung Cancer by Sensor Array Analyses of Exhaled BreathAmerican Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2005
- Olfactory detection of human bladder cancer by dogs: proof of principle studyBMJ, 2004
- Volatile organic compounds in breath as markers of lung cancer: a cross-sectional studyThe Lancet, 1999