An investigation on electronic nose diagnosis of lung cancer

• Published in: Lung cancer (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Vol. 68; no. 2; pp. 170 - 176
• Main Authors: D’Amico, Arnaldo, Pennazza, Giorgio, Santonico, Marco, Martinelli, Eugenio, Roscioni, Claudio, Galluccio, Giovanni, Paolesse, Roberto, Di Natale, Corrado
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ireland Ltd 01.05.2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adenocarcinoma - diagnosis; Adenocarcinoma - pathology; Adenocarcinoma - physiopathology; Aged; Aniline Compounds - analysis; Biological and medical sciences; Biomarkers; Biomarkers, Tumor - analysis; Breath Tests; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma; Complex Mixtures - chemistry; COPD; Cyclopentanes - analysis; Diagnosis, Differential; Electronic nose; Exhaled breath; Feasibility Studies; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Hematology, Oncology and Palliative Medicine; Humans; Lung cancer; Lung diseases; Lung Neoplasms - diagnosis; Lung Neoplasms - pathology; Lung Neoplasms - physiopathology; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Non-invasive diagnosis; Otorhinolaryngology. Stomatology; Pneumology; Predictive Value of Tests; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - diagnosis; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - pathology; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - physiopathology; Pulmonary/Respiratory; Sensitivity and Specificity; Toluidines - analysis; Tumors; Tumors of the respiratory system and mediastinum; Upper respiratory tract, upper alimentary tract, paranasal sinuses, salivary glands: diseases, semeiology; Volatile Organic Compounds; Non-invasive diagnosis; Lung cancer; Lung diseases; Electronic nose; Biomarkers; Volatile Organic Compounds; COPD; Exhaled breath; Nose disease; Biological marker; Nose cancer; Cancerology; Nose; ENT disease; Bronchus disease; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Obstructive pulmonary disease; Diagnosis; Pneumology; Volatile compound; Lung disease; Respiratory disease; Malignant tumor; Chronic; Non invasive method; Cancer
• ISSN: 0169-5002; 1872-8332; 1872-8332
• DOI: 10.1016/j.lungcan.2009.11.003

The use of gas sensor arrays as medical diagnosis instruments has been proposed several years ago. Since then, the idea has been proven for a limited number of diseases. The case of lung cancer is particularly interesting because it is supported by studies that have shown the correlation between the composition of breath and the disease. However, it is known that many other diseases can alter the breath composition, so for lung cancer diagnosis it is necessary not only to detect generic alterations but those specifically consequent to cancer. In this paper an experiment, performed in the bronchoscopy unit of a large hospital, aimed at discriminating between lung cancer, diverse lung diseases and reference controls is illustrated. Results show not only a satisfactory identification rate of lung cancer subjects but also a non-negligible sensitivity to breath modification induced by other affections. Furthermore, the effects of some compounds frequently found in the breath of lung cancer subjects have also been studied. Results indicate that breath samples of control individuals drift towards the lung cancer group when added with either single or mixtures of these alleged cancer-related compounds.