Methodological considerations for large-scale breath analysis studies: lessons from the U-BIOPRED severe asthma...

Area of Science:

• Biomarker Discovery
• Analytical Chemistry
• Respiratory Medicine

Background:

• Breath analysis is a promising non-invasive technique for disease diagnosis and monitoring.
• Large-scale, multi-site studies are essential for robust biomarker discovery but face significant methodological challenges.
• Quality assessment is critical to minimize false discoveries and ensure reliable results in breath metabolite profiling.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate methodological considerations in large-scale, multi-site breath metabolite profiling studies.
• To identify sources of systematic and random variation in breath sampling and analysis.
• To provide recommended best practices for future multi-site breath analysis research.

Main Methods:

• Utilized breath sample data from the U-BIOPRED cohort.
• Evaluated batch variation and correction strategies.
• Assessed inter-site variability, storage and transportation effects, and inter-instrument analytical differences.

Main Results:

• Identified significant batch effects and inter-site variations impacting breath metabolite profiles.
• Demonstrated the influence of storage and transportation conditions on sample integrity.
• Highlighted inter-instrument analytical differences as a critical factor in data comparability.

Conclusions:

• Standardized protocols and rigorous quality control are essential for multi-site breath analysis.
• Implementing batch correction and accounting for site-specific variations are crucial for data accuracy.
• The findings provide a foundation for establishing best practices in large-scale breath metabolite profiling studies.