Differential cytokine pattern in the exhaled breath of patients with lung cancer

Tumour cells may alter the protein pattern of biological samples resulting in specific differences that may aid diagnosis and treatment. In this pilot study we tested the cytokine pattern of exhaled breath condensate of patients with lung cancer. Breath condensates collected from 50 smoking patients with lung cancer and 25 smokers without clinical or radiological sign of a pulmonary tumour but having co-morbidities with similar severity as those with lung cancer were pooled for antibody microarray analysis testing 120 cytokines in parallel. Every cytokine on the array gave a signal in both groups. Nine cytokines including eotaxin, FGFs, IL-10 and MIP-3 were present with more than two-fold difference between the two groups. Large number of cytokines is present in the exhaled breath. Further analysis of specific differences associated with lung cancer may have clinical importance.