Detecting head and neck squamous carcinoma using a portable handheld electronic nose

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Biotechnology
• Medical Diagnostics

Background:

• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath are potential biomarkers for cancer diagnosis.
• Head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) diagnosis currently relies on invasive procedures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of a handheld electronic nose for discriminating between HNSCC patients and healthy controls.
• To assess the diagnostic performance of the electronic nose for HNSCC and its subsites.

Main Methods:

• Ninety-one HNSCC patients and 72 healthy controls exhaled into a portable electronic nose device.
• An artificial neural network model was developed to differentiate between HNSCC and controls.
• Separate models were created to distinguish between oral, oropharyngeal, and glottic HNSCC subsites and controls.

Main Results:

• The electronic nose achieved a diagnostic accuracy of 72% (sensitivity 79%, specificity 63%, AUC 0.75) for HNSCC detection.
• Area under the curve (AUC) values for discriminating HNSCC subsites were 0.85 (oral), 0.82 (oropharyngeal), and 0.83 (glottic).

Conclusions:

• A portable, noninvasive electronic nose demonstrates capability in differentiating HNSCC patients from healthy individuals.
• This technology shows potential as a screening or diagnostic tool for HNSCC.