Abstract

BACKGROUND: Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MPM) is a tumour of the surface cells of the pleura that is highly aggressive and mainly caused by asbestos exposure. Electronic noses capture the spectrum of exhaled volatile organic compounds (VOCs) providing a composite biomarker profile (breathprint). OBJECTIVE: We tested the hypothesis that an electronic nose can discriminate exhaled air of patients with MPM from subjects with a similar long-term professional exposure to asbestos without MPM and from healthy controls. METHODS: 13 patients with a histology confirmed diagnosis of MPM (age 60.9±12.2 year), 13 subjects with certified, long-term professional asbestos exposure (age 67.2±9.8), and 13 healthy subjects without asbestos exposure (age 52.2±16.2) participated in a cross-sectional study. Exhaled breath was collected by a previously described method and sampled by an electronic nose (Cyranose 320). Breathprints were analyzed by canonical discriminant analysis on principal component reduction. Cross-validated accuracy (CVA) was calculated. RESULTS: Breathprints from patients with MPM were separated from subjects with asbestos exposure (CVA: 80.8%, sensitivity 92.3%, specificity 85.7%). MPM was also distinguished from healthy controls (CVA: 84.6%). Repeated measurements confirmed these results. CONCLUSIONS: Molecular pattern recognition of exhaled breath can correctly distinguish patients with MPM from subjects with similar occupational asbestos exposure without MPM and from healthy controls. This suggests that breathprints obtained by electronic nose have diagnostic potential for MPM.

Autore Pugliese

• Schiavulli Nunzia Anna , Resta Onofrio , Carratu' Pierluigi , Dragonieri Silvano

Tutti gli autori

• MUSTI M.;SCHIAVULLI N.A.;RESTA O.;CARRATU' P.;DRAGONIERI S.

Titolo volume/Rivista

Non Disponibile

Anno di pubblicazione

2012

ISSN

0169-5002

ISBN

Non Disponibile

Numero di citazioni Wos

59

Ultimo Aggiornamento Citazioni

Non Disponibile

Numero di citazioni Scopus

61

Ultimo Aggiornamento Citazioni

Non Disponibile

Settori ERC

Non Disponibile

Codici ASJC

Non Disponibile