title: Clinical contributions of exhaled volatile organic compounds in the diagnosis of lung cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Exhaled volatile organic compounds (VOC) are being considered as biomarkers for various lungs diseases, including cancer. However, the accurate measurement of extremely low concentrations of VOC in expired air is technically challenging. We evaluated the clinical contribution of exhaled VOC measured with a new, double cold-trap method in the diagnosis of lung cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Breath samples were collected from 116 patients with histologically confirmed lung cancer and 37 healthy volunteers (controls) after inspiration of purified air, synthesized through a cold-trap system. The exhaled VOC, trapped in the same system, were heat extracted. We analyzed 14 VOC with gas chromatography.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The concentrations of exhaled cyclohexane and xylene were significantly higher in patients with lung cancer than in controls (p = 0.002 and 0.0001, respectively), increased significantly with the progression of the clinical stage of cancer (both p < 0.001), and decreased significantly after successful treatment of 6 patients with small cell lung cancer (p = 0.06 and 0.03, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Measurements of exhaled VOCs by a double cold-trap method may help diagnose lung cancer and monitor its progression and regression.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Medicine, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Tsuyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oguma
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nagaoka
authors.affiliation: Ogino Memorial Laboratory, Nihon Kohden Corporation, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Muneshige
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurahashi
authors.affiliation: Ogino Memorial Laboratory, Nihon Kohden Corporation, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Naofumi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.affiliation: Ogino Memorial Laboratory, Nihon Kohden Corporation, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamamori
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Chizuko
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tsuji
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Medicine, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takiguchi
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Medicine, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Kyoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Niimi
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Medicine, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tomomatsu
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Medicine, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Katsuyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tomomatsu
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Medicine, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hayama
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Medicine, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aoki
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Medicine, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Urano
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Tokai University School of Engineering, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazushige
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Magatani
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Sunao
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takeda
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Medicine, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Medicine, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Koichiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Asano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001944:Breath Tests / Q000379:methods*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D057230:Limit of Detection; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds / Q000032:analysis*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds