Strengths, Weaknesses and Opportunities of Diagnostic Breathomics in Pleural Mesothelioma.

Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. 2014 April 4. [Epub ahead of print] [Link]

Lamote K, Nackaerts K, Meerbeeck JP.

Abstract

Past and present asbestos use will reflect in increasing numbers of mesothelioma cases in the next decades, diagnosed at a late stage and with a dismal prognosis. This stresses the need for early detection tools which could improve patient’s survival. Recently, breath analysis as a non-invasive and fast diagnostic tool has found its way into biomedical research. High-throughput breathomics uses spectrometric, chromatographic and sensor techniques to diagnose asbestos-related pulmonary diseases based upon volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in breath. This article reviews the state-of-the-art available breath analyzing techniques and provides the insight in the current use of VOCs as early diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers of mesothelioma in order to stimulate further research in this field.