Breath testing as a method for detecting lung cancer

Training and Validating a Portable Electronic Nose for Lung Cancer Screening

“…1 In only 15% of newly diagnosed cases, however, is it being detected at an early stage. 1,2 Early diagnosis could substantially prolong life expectancy. 1,3 Because current diagnostic tools for lung carcinoma are either expensive or invasive and therefore not ideal for screening purposes, a low-cost, noninvasive handheld portable tool such as the electronic nose (e-nose) could be useful in clinical practice.…”

“…1,3 Because current diagnostic tools for lung carcinoma are either expensive or invasive and therefore not ideal for screening purposes, a low-cost, noninvasive handheld portable tool such as the electronic nose (e-nose) could be useful in clinical practice. 2 Screening and early detection of cancer are prominent in the WHO cancer diagnosis and treatment program. For lung cancer, the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) demonstrated a 6.7% improvement of overall survival and a 20% reduction in mortality for patients screened with computed tomography (CT).…”

“…Another impediment to reproducibility could lie in the statistic or mathematical methods used to detect VOC patterns in exhaled breath. 2 These methods could compensate for the interdevice differences. 20,21 This feasibility study investigated the added value of implementing an e-nose in diagnosing lung carcinoma.…”