Key clinical point : A new breath biomarker-based diagnostic method shows promise by identifying 16 cancer-derived volatile organic compounds (VOC) that have high sensitivity and specificity in patients with lung cancer.
Major finding : In the discovery phase, 16 VOC with peak intensity most altered before vs after surgery were identified. In the validation phase, the 16 VOC-based diagnostic model demonstrated an area under the curve of 0.952, sensitivity of 89.2%, specificity of 89.1%, and accuracy of 89.1%.
Study details : The discovery phase involved a prospective cohort study of 84 patients with lung cancer who were tested for 28 VOC before and after surgery. The promising VOC were further assessed in the validation phase which included 157 patients with lung cancer and 368 healthy controls.
Disclosures: The research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and others. The authors declared no competing interests.
Source: Wang P et al. Identification of lung cancer breath biomarkers based on perioperative breathomics testing: A prospective observational study. EClinicalMedicine. 2022;47:101384 (Apr 26). Doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101384