Electronic nose-based volatile organic compound profiling in gynecologic oncology: current evidence and diagnostic...

Volatile organic compounds profiling has emerged as a promising approach for cancer detection. Electronic noses are portable sensor-based devices capable of recognizing volatile organic compound patterns in various biological matrices, offering a rapid, non-invasive, and cost-effective diagnostic alternative. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of electronic noses in gynecologic oncology and to delineate their technical characteristics.

This review followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and was registered in International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (CRD420251122293). PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched up to August 2025. Eligible studies included prospective investigations evaluating volatile organic compound analysis through electronic noses in ovarian, cervical, endometrial, and vulvar cancers, as well as high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, using histopathology as the reference standard. Diagnostic performance parameters were extracted, and the risk of bias was assessed with Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2. No meta-analysis was performed due to study heterogeneity.

Fifteen studies with a total of 1224 patients were included. Among them, 562 (45.9%) had gynecologic malignancies, and 662 (54.1%) served as controls. Ten studies (66.7%) investigated ovarian cancer, 4 (26.7%) cervical cancer, and 1 (6.7%) high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions of the cervix; no studies evaluated endometrial or vulvar cancers. Biological matrices analyzed included breath (33.3%), urine (20%), tissue (20%), plasma (6.7%), genitourinary secretions (6.7%), or combined samples (6.7%). Reported diagnostic performance ranged from 71% to 97.7% for sensitivity, from 63% to 100% for specificity, and from 71% to 95% for accuracy across all cancer types. In ovarian cancer studies, sensitivity ranged from 71% to 97.7%, specificity from 63% to 91.4%, and accuracy from 71% to 87%. In cervical cancer studies, sensitivity ranged from 88% to 93%, and specificity from 85% to 100%.

Electronic nose technologies show encouraging diagnostic accuracy in gynecologic oncology, particularly for cervical cancer, whereas performance in ovarian cancer remains more variable depending on the biological matrix and comparator group. Despite promising results, the lack of standardized protocols and the heterogeneity of current evidence limit immediate clinical translation. Larger, multicenter, and standardized studies are needed to validate their integration into diagnostic workflows.