Development of a non-invasive exhaled breath test for the diagnosis of head and neck cancer
Menée auprès de 181 patients avec suspicion de carcinome épidermoïde de la tête et du cou, cette étude évalue la sensibilité et la spécificité d'un test non invasif, basé sur l'analyse par spectrométrie de masse des composés organiques volatiles d'échantillons d'air expiré, pour diagnostiquer avec précision la maladie
Background : Improving the ability to identify early-stage head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) can improve treatment outcomes and patient morbidity. We sought to determine the diagnostic accuracy of breath analysis as a non-invasive test for detecting HNSCC.
Methods : Standardised breath samples were collected from 181 patients suspected of HNSCC prior to any treatment. A selected ion flow-tube mass spectrometer was used to analyse breath for volatile organic compounds. Diagnosis was confirmed by histopathology. A binomial logistic regression model was used to differentiate breath profiles between cancer and control (benign disease) patients based on mass spectrometry derived variables.
Results : In all, 66% of participants had early-stage primary tumours (T1 and T2) and 58% had regional node metastasis. The optimised logistic regression model using three variables had a sensitivity and specificity of 80% and 86%, respectively, with an AUC for ROC curve of 0.821 (95%CI 0.625–1.0) in the testing cohort.
Conclusions : Breath analysis for non-invasive diagnosis of HNSCC appears to be practical and accurate. Future studies should be conducted in a primary care setting to determine the applicability of breath analysis for early identification of HNSCC.
British Journal of Cancer , résumé, 2020