title: Analysis of exhaled breath for diagnosing head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: a feasibility study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) are wide-spread cancers that often lead to disfigurement and loss of important functions such as speech and ingestion. To date, HNSCC has no adequate method for early detection and screening.
  
  
  METHODS
  Exhaled breath samples were collected from 87 volunteers; 62 well-defined breath samples from 22 HNSCC patients (larynx and pharynx), 21 patients with benign tumours (larynx and pharynx) and 19 healthy controls were analysed in a dual approach: (i) chemical analysis using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and (ii) breath-print analysis using an array of nanomaterial-based sensors, combined with a statistical algorithm.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry identified ethanol, 2-propenenitrile and undecane as potential markers for HNSCC and/or benign tumours of the head and neck. The sensor-array-based breath-prints could clearly distinguish HNSCC both from benign tumours and from healthy states. Within the HNSCC group, patients could be classified according to tumour site and stage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We have demonstrated the feasibility of a breath test for a specific, clinically interesting application: distinguishing HNSCC from tumour-free or benign tumour states, as well as for staging and locating HNSCC. The sensor array used here could form the basis for the development of an urgently needed non-invasive, cost-effective, fast and reliable point-of-care diagnostic/screening tool for HNSCC.
authors.affiliation: The Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Carmel Medical Center, Haifa 34362, Israel.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gruber
authors.affiliation: The Department of Chemical Engineering and Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Tisch
authors.affiliation: The Department of Chemical Engineering and Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jeries
authors.affiliation: The Department of Chemical Engineering and Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Amal
authors.affiliation: The Department of Chemical Engineering and Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hakim
authors.affiliation: The Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Carmel Medical Center, Haifa 34362, Israel.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ronen
authors.affiliation: The Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Carmel Medical Center, Haifa 34362, Israel.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Marshak
authors.affiliation: The Department of Chemical Engineering and Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
authors.affiliation: The Department of Chemical Engineering and Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Israel
authors.affiliation: The Department of Chemical Engineering and Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Amiga
authors.affiliation: The Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Carmel Medical Center, Haifa 34362, Israel.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Doweck
authors.affiliation: The Department of Chemical Engineering and Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Haick
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001944:Breath Tests; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D045853:Exhalation; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds