title: Exhaled Molecular Fingerprinting in Diagnosis and Monitoring: Validating Volatile Promises.
abstract: Medical diagnosis and phenotyping increasingly incorporate information from complex biological samples. This has promoted the development and clinical application of non-invasive metabolomics in exhaled air (breathomics). In respiratory medicine, expired volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are associated with inflammatory, oxidative, microbial, and neoplastic processes. After recent proof of concept studies demonstrating moderate to good diagnostic accuracies, the latest efforts in breathomics are focused on optimization of sensor technologies and analytical algorithms, as well as on independent validation of clinical classification and prediction. Current research strategies are revealing the underlying pathophysiological pathways as well as clinically-acceptable levels of diagnostic accuracy. Implementing recent guidelines on validating molecular signatures in medicine will enhance the clinical potential of breathomics and the development of point-of-care technologies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Toxicology, NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: a.boots@maastrichtuniversity.nl.
authors.forename: Agnes W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Boots
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Academic Medical Centre, University of Medical Centre Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Lieuwe D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Bos
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Academic Medical Centre, University of Medical Centre Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Pediatric Pulmonology, Emma's Children's Hospital, Academic Medical Centre Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marc P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: van der Schee
authors.affiliation: Department of Toxicology, NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Frederik-Jan
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: van Schooten
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Academic Medical Centre, University of Medical Centre Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Sterk
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers; D045853:Exhalation; D006801:Humans; D055432:Metabolomics; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques; D012120:Respiration Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds
keywords: Breath; GC-MS; diagnosis; eNose; metabolomics; volatile organic compounds