Prediction of breast cancer using volatile biomarkers in the breath.
We evaluated a breath test for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as a predictor of breast cancer. Breath VOCs were assayed in 51 asymptomatic women with abnormal mammograms and biopsy-proven breast cancer, and 42 age-matched healthy women. A fuzzy logic model predicted breast cancer with accuracy superior to previously reported findings. Following random assignment to a training set (64) or a prediction set (29), a model was constructed in the training set employing five breath VOCs that predicted breast cancer in the prediction set with 93.8% sensitivity and 84.6% specificity. The same model predicted no breast cancer in 16/50 (32.0%) women with abnormal mammograms and no cancer on biopsy. A two-minute breath test could potentially provide a safe, accurate and painless screening test for breast cancer, but prospective validation studies are required.
Phillips
Michael
M
Menssana Research Inc., 1 Horizon Road, Suite 1415, Fort Lee, NJ 07024, USA. mphillips@menssanaresearch.com
Cataneo
Renee N
RN
Ditkoff
Beth Ann
BA
Fisher
Peter
P
Greenberg
Joel
J
Gunawardena
Ratnasiri
R
Kwon
C Stephan
CS
Tietje
Olaf
O
Wong
Cynthia
C
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D001706:Biopsy; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D001944:Breath Tests; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D017143:Fuzzy Logic; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D009930:Organic Chemicals