An investigation about the origin of the lung cancer signalling VOCs in breath

In this paper an investigation about the origin of lung cancer related VOCs is reported. For the scope a modified endoscopic probe has been used to collect the air from inside the alveoli. The experiment involved a population of subject that were undergoing lung endoscopy examination. For each subject a sample of air was taken from both the lungs. The samples were analyzed with an electronic nose and a GC-MS. Results indicate that most of the cancer-related volatile compounds are originated at the blood-air interface in both the lungs. Electronic nose sensors are mostly sensitive to these compounds, making impossible to distinguish the cancer carrying lungs. However, GCMS can detect also a number of less abundant volatile compounds that can make possible the separation of cancerous lung from the other. In conclusion, the most abundant volatile compounds are common to both the lungs and they originate from metabolism products excreted in the blood. Only a minor component of the breath are directly exhaled from the cancerous cells into the air inside the lung.