Potential urinary volatile organic compounds as screening markers in cancer – a review

Early detection of cancer typically facilitates improved patient outcomes; however, many cancers are not easily diagnosed at an early stage. One potential route for developing new, non-invasive methods of cancer detection is by testing for cancer-related volatile organic compounds (VOCs) biomarkers...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Alexandre Goertzen, Biniam Kidane, Naseer Ahmed, Michel Aliani
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2024-11-01
Series:Frontiers in Oncology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2024.1448760/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846157426338824192
author Alexandre Goertzen
Alexandre Goertzen
Biniam Kidane
Biniam Kidane
Biniam Kidane
Naseer Ahmed
Naseer Ahmed
Michel Aliani
Michel Aliani
Michel Aliani
author_facet Alexandre Goertzen
Alexandre Goertzen
Biniam Kidane
Biniam Kidane
Biniam Kidane
Naseer Ahmed
Naseer Ahmed
Michel Aliani
Michel Aliani
Michel Aliani
author_sort Alexandre Goertzen
collection DOAJ
description Early detection of cancer typically facilitates improved patient outcomes; however, many cancers are not easily diagnosed at an early stage. One potential route for developing new, non-invasive methods of cancer detection is by testing for cancer-related volatile organic compounds (VOCs) biomarkers in patients’ urine. In this review, 44 studies covering the use and/or identification of cancer-related VOCs were examined, including studies which examined multiple types of cancer simultaneously, as well as diverse study designs. Among these studies the most studied cancers included prostate cancer (29% of papers), lung cancer (22%), breast cancer (20%), and bladder cancer (18%), with a smaller number of studies focused on colorectal cancer, cervical cancer, skin, liver cancer and others. Importantly, most studies which produced a VOC-based model of cancer detection observed a combined sensitivity and specificity above 150%, indicating that urine-based methods of cancer detection show considerable promise as a diagnostic tool. Mass spectrometry (MS) and electronic noses (eNose) were the most employed tools used in the detection of VOCs, while animal-based models were less common. In terms of VOCs of interest, 47 chemical species identified as correlated with various types of cancer in at least two unrelated papers, some of which were consistently up- or down-regulated in cancer patients, and which may represent useful targets for future studies investing urinary VOC biomarkers of cancer. Overall, it was concluded that research in this field has shown promising results, but more work may be needed before the widespread adoption of these techniques takes place.
format Article
id doaj-art-095ef0bc98a84b51b159268334dda78e
institution Kabale University
issn 2234-943X
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Oncology
spelling doaj-art-095ef0bc98a84b51b159268334dda78e2024-11-25T10:32:10ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Oncology2234-943X2024-11-011410.3389/fonc.2024.14487601448760Potential urinary volatile organic compounds as screening markers in cancer – a reviewAlexandre Goertzen0Alexandre Goertzen1Biniam Kidane2Biniam Kidane3Biniam Kidane4Naseer Ahmed5Naseer Ahmed6Michel Aliani7Michel Aliani8Michel Aliani9Division of Neurodegenerative Disorders, Saint Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Center, Winnipeg, MB, CanadaDepartment of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, CanadaPaul Albrechtsen Research Institute, CancerCare, Winnipeg, MB, CanadaDepartment of Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, CanadaRady Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Radiology, Section of Radiation Oncology, Winnipeg, MB, CanadaPaul Albrechtsen Research Institute, CancerCare, Winnipeg, MB, CanadaRady Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Radiology, Section of Radiation Oncology, Winnipeg, MB, CanadaDivision of Neurodegenerative Disorders, Saint Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Center, Winnipeg, MB, CanadaDepartment of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, CanadaDepartment of Physiology and Pathophysiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, CanadaEarly detection of cancer typically facilitates improved patient outcomes; however, many cancers are not easily diagnosed at an early stage. One potential route for developing new, non-invasive methods of cancer detection is by testing for cancer-related volatile organic compounds (VOCs) biomarkers in patients’ urine. In this review, 44 studies covering the use and/or identification of cancer-related VOCs were examined, including studies which examined multiple types of cancer simultaneously, as well as diverse study designs. Among these studies the most studied cancers included prostate cancer (29% of papers), lung cancer (22%), breast cancer (20%), and bladder cancer (18%), with a smaller number of studies focused on colorectal cancer, cervical cancer, skin, liver cancer and others. Importantly, most studies which produced a VOC-based model of cancer detection observed a combined sensitivity and specificity above 150%, indicating that urine-based methods of cancer detection show considerable promise as a diagnostic tool. Mass spectrometry (MS) and electronic noses (eNose) were the most employed tools used in the detection of VOCs, while animal-based models were less common. In terms of VOCs of interest, 47 chemical species identified as correlated with various types of cancer in at least two unrelated papers, some of which were consistently up- or down-regulated in cancer patients, and which may represent useful targets for future studies investing urinary VOC biomarkers of cancer. Overall, it was concluded that research in this field has shown promising results, but more work may be needed before the widespread adoption of these techniques takes place.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2024.1448760/fullcancerbiomarkersvolatile organic compoundsgas chromatography mass spectrometryelectronic nosediagnostics
spellingShingle Alexandre Goertzen
Alexandre Goertzen
Biniam Kidane
Biniam Kidane
Biniam Kidane
Naseer Ahmed
Naseer Ahmed
Michel Aliani
Michel Aliani
Michel Aliani
Potential urinary volatile organic compounds as screening markers in cancer – a review
Frontiers in Oncology
cancer
biomarkers
volatile organic compounds
gas chromatography mass spectrometry
electronic nose
diagnostics
title Potential urinary volatile organic compounds as screening markers in cancer – a review
title_full Potential urinary volatile organic compounds as screening markers in cancer – a review
title_fullStr Potential urinary volatile organic compounds as screening markers in cancer – a review
title_full_unstemmed Potential urinary volatile organic compounds as screening markers in cancer – a review
title_short Potential urinary volatile organic compounds as screening markers in cancer – a review
title_sort potential urinary volatile organic compounds as screening markers in cancer a review
topic cancer
biomarkers
volatile organic compounds
gas chromatography mass spectrometry
electronic nose
diagnostics
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2024.1448760/full
work_keys_str_mv AT alexandregoertzen potentialurinaryvolatileorganiccompoundsasscreeningmarkersincancerareview
AT alexandregoertzen potentialurinaryvolatileorganiccompoundsasscreeningmarkersincancerareview
AT biniamkidane potentialurinaryvolatileorganiccompoundsasscreeningmarkersincancerareview
AT biniamkidane potentialurinaryvolatileorganiccompoundsasscreeningmarkersincancerareview
AT biniamkidane potentialurinaryvolatileorganiccompoundsasscreeningmarkersincancerareview
AT naseerahmed potentialurinaryvolatileorganiccompoundsasscreeningmarkersincancerareview
AT naseerahmed potentialurinaryvolatileorganiccompoundsasscreeningmarkersincancerareview
AT michelaliani potentialurinaryvolatileorganiccompoundsasscreeningmarkersincancerareview
AT michelaliani potentialurinaryvolatileorganiccompoundsasscreeningmarkersincancerareview
AT michelaliani potentialurinaryvolatileorganiccompoundsasscreeningmarkersincancerareview