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Updated: Jun 14, 2026
Real-time Breath Analysis by Using Secondary Nanoelectrospray Ionization Coupled to High Resolution Mass Spectrometry
Published on: March 9, 2018
[Measurement of exhaled volatile organic compounds in lung cancer patients]
Chong-Rong Lu1, Yan-Jie Hu, En-Guo Chen
1Department of Respiratory Medicine, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310016, China.
Objective:
to study the characteristics of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath of lung cancer patients, and therefore to explore its use in the diagnosis of the disease.
Methods:
from February 2007 to September 2009, 55 patients with lung cancer, 21 patients with benign lung diseases and 30 healthy controls were enrolled in our study. The VOCs in exhaled breath were detected by the SPME (solid phase microextraction)-GC (gas chromatography) system.
Results:
heptanal was detected in 45 patients of the lung cancer group, 1 of the benign lung disease group, and 1 of the healthy control group. The positive rate was higher in the lung cancer group as compared to the benign lung disease group and the healthy group combined (P < 0.05). The detection of heptanal was not related to age, smoking, histological type and staging (P > 0.05).
Conclusion:
heptanal maybe a useful marker in VOCs from patients with lung cancer.
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