Use of sensors array analysis to detect ovarian cancer through breath, urine and blood

According to the Global Cancer Observatory, ovarian cancer is the eighth most common cancer in women, with 313.959 new cases and 207.252 new deaths worldwide, in 2020. In clinical practice, clinical examination, transvaginal ultrasound (TVU), and serum biomarkers dosage are used to investigate the presence of ovarian cancer OC, with a sensitivity of 88% and 95% respectively and a specificity of 84% for US and 76% for biomarkers; but these data are not enough and several early stages are missed. Many scientists have recently focused their attention on volatile organic compounds (VOC). For the first time in literature, we investigated the potential use of sensors array analysis (the electronic nose and electronic tongue) to detect ovarian cancer not just from from breath and urine, but also from blood and plasma samples, with a special attention on their sensitivity and specificity. To increase the sensibility, we used both the electronic nose (made of 32 sensors) and the e tongue (made of 1500 sensors divided in three blocks of 500). As secondary endpoint, we correlated for the first time the fingerprints obtained from e-nose and e-tongue with CA125 and HE4. We enrolled 196 patients, referred to University Campus Bio Medico of Rome between 2017 and 2019, affected by an ovarian mass and suitable for a pelvic surgery. According to inclusion and exclusion criteria a total of 60 patients are suitable for final analysis. As results, the e-nose and the e-tongue, taken together reach a sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 86%, with a VPP of 86% and a VPN of 84%. Our preliminary results suggested the potential role of sensor array analysis for the detection OC in a selected group of patients, without overlooking comorbidities of patients. In the future, the next step will be to investigate in a larger population if altered VOCs might be predictive for higher risk of developing OC in comparison to normal VOCs, allowing to identify patients at risk, regardless the presence of ovarian masses (screening test), hopefully reducing the mortality rate.