Lung cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma, and esophageal cancer are the most common thoracic malignancies and are responsible for substantial cancer-related morbidity and mortality worldwide. Early cancer identification prompts earlier intervention and can therefore improve patient survival. Traditional diagnostics are costly and invasive, however, creating an urgent need for alternative methods. Over the past 30 years, breath analysis has emerged as a rapid, minimally invasive, and cost-effective approach. Metabolites in exhaled breath, known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), reflect internal biomolecular processes and their composition has been shown to vary in association with numerous pathological states. This review provides an overview on the use of VOCs in exhaled breath for the early screening and diagnosis of thoracic malignancies. Study design, methodology, and significant results from over sixty studies published since 1990 are specified and summarized. A total of 439 significant VOCs are reported in the literature, mainly consisting of aromatic compounds, aldehydes, alkanes, lipids, ketones, and sulfur-containing compounds. Diagnostic sensitivities and specificities range from 51-100% and 68.8 – 100%, respectively. Cancer-specific VOC profiles and associations of clinical interest (e.g., comorbidities, histology, and staging) are emphasized and discussed. While there is considerable evidence to support the diagnostic utility of VOCs, the lack of standardization and external validation in large independent cohorts remain key barriers to clinical translation. However, efforts to address these limitations are currently underway.
| Published in | American Journal of Biomedical and Life Sciences (Volume 8, Issue 6) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ajbls.20200806.17 |
| Page(s) | 231-247 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Lung Cancer, Esophageal Cancer, Mesothelioma, Volatile Organic Compounds, VOCs, Breath Analysis, Biomarker
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APA Style
Gerardo Velez, Harvey Pass. (2020). A Review of Exhaled Volatile Organic Compounds as Biomarkers for Thoracic Malignancies. American Journal of Biomedical and Life Sciences, 8(6), 231-247. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajbls.20200806.17
ACS Style
Gerardo Velez; Harvey Pass. A Review of Exhaled Volatile Organic Compounds as Biomarkers for Thoracic Malignancies. Am. J. Biomed. Life Sci. 2020, 8(6), 231-247. doi: 10.11648/j.ajbls.20200806.17
AMA Style
Gerardo Velez, Harvey Pass. A Review of Exhaled Volatile Organic Compounds as Biomarkers for Thoracic Malignancies. Am J Biomed Life Sci. 2020;8(6):231-247. doi: 10.11648/j.ajbls.20200806.17
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ajbls.20200806.17,
author = {Gerardo Velez and Harvey Pass},
title = {A Review of Exhaled Volatile Organic Compounds as Biomarkers for Thoracic Malignancies},
journal = {American Journal of Biomedical and Life Sciences},
volume = {8},
number = {6},
pages = {231-247},
doi = {10.11648/j.ajbls.20200806.17},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajbls.20200806.17},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajbls.20200806.17},
abstract = {Lung cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma, and esophageal cancer are the most common thoracic malignancies and are responsible for substantial cancer-related morbidity and mortality worldwide. Early cancer identification prompts earlier intervention and can therefore improve patient survival. Traditional diagnostics are costly and invasive, however, creating an urgent need for alternative methods. Over the past 30 years, breath analysis has emerged as a rapid, minimally invasive, and cost-effective approach. Metabolites in exhaled breath, known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), reflect internal biomolecular processes and their composition has been shown to vary in association with numerous pathological states. This review provides an overview on the use of VOCs in exhaled breath for the early screening and diagnosis of thoracic malignancies. Study design, methodology, and significant results from over sixty studies published since 1990 are specified and summarized. A total of 439 significant VOCs are reported in the literature, mainly consisting of aromatic compounds, aldehydes, alkanes, lipids, ketones, and sulfur-containing compounds. Diagnostic sensitivities and specificities range from 51-100% and 68.8 – 100%, respectively. Cancer-specific VOC profiles and associations of clinical interest (e.g., comorbidities, histology, and staging) are emphasized and discussed. While there is considerable evidence to support the diagnostic utility of VOCs, the lack of standardization and external validation in large independent cohorts remain key barriers to clinical translation. However, efforts to address these limitations are currently underway.},
year = {2020}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - A Review of Exhaled Volatile Organic Compounds as Biomarkers for Thoracic Malignancies AU - Gerardo Velez AU - Harvey Pass Y1 - 2020/12/31 PY - 2020 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajbls.20200806.17 DO - 10.11648/j.ajbls.20200806.17 T2 - American Journal of Biomedical and Life Sciences JF - American Journal of Biomedical and Life Sciences JO - American Journal of Biomedical and Life Sciences SP - 231 EP - 247 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-880X UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajbls.20200806.17 AB - Lung cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma, and esophageal cancer are the most common thoracic malignancies and are responsible for substantial cancer-related morbidity and mortality worldwide. Early cancer identification prompts earlier intervention and can therefore improve patient survival. Traditional diagnostics are costly and invasive, however, creating an urgent need for alternative methods. Over the past 30 years, breath analysis has emerged as a rapid, minimally invasive, and cost-effective approach. Metabolites in exhaled breath, known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), reflect internal biomolecular processes and their composition has been shown to vary in association with numerous pathological states. This review provides an overview on the use of VOCs in exhaled breath for the early screening and diagnosis of thoracic malignancies. Study design, methodology, and significant results from over sixty studies published since 1990 are specified and summarized. A total of 439 significant VOCs are reported in the literature, mainly consisting of aromatic compounds, aldehydes, alkanes, lipids, ketones, and sulfur-containing compounds. Diagnostic sensitivities and specificities range from 51-100% and 68.8 – 100%, respectively. Cancer-specific VOC profiles and associations of clinical interest (e.g., comorbidities, histology, and staging) are emphasized and discussed. While there is considerable evidence to support the diagnostic utility of VOCs, the lack of standardization and external validation in large independent cohorts remain key barriers to clinical translation. However, efforts to address these limitations are currently underway. VL - 8 IS - 6 ER -
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