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New approach identifies reproducible volatile organic compounds for lung cancer diagnosis

A research team has developed a multi-medium approach (MMA) to identify reproducible volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in lung cancer cells. The study, in Analytical Chemistry, offers new insights into non-invasive lung cancer diagnosis through VOCs.

VOCs in human body odor have been a key focus in health research, particularly for non-invasive lung cancer screening. Despite decades of studies on exhaled VOCs, no consensus on reliable biomarkers has been reached, with inconsistent results even in in vitro cancer cell culture analyses.

To address this, the team proposed using a combination of three different culture media—RPMI 1640, DMEM, and Ham's F12—along with chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for untargeted VOC analysis.

"The newly proposed MMA allowed the team to find a few key VOCs that could reliably separate lung cancer cells (A549) from normal lung cells (BEAS-2B)," said Dr. Ge Dianlong, a member of the team.

While dozens of differential VOCs were identified using traditional single-medium approaches (SMA), only two VOCs (methyl butanol isomers) showed reproducibility under the MMA, with lower levels in the cancerous A549 cells. Further validation through targeted detection of subcutaneous and primary tumor tissues in animal models confirmed these findings.

"This new approach is like creating a universal 'fingerprint' for cancer cells, offering hope for more accurate and non-invasive lung cancer detection in the future," added Dr. Ge. "These findings could also help advance tumor gas biopsies and even improve diagnostic methods in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)."

The study was led by Prof. Chu Yannan from the Hefei Institutes of Â鶹ÒùÔºical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences